He's Got Personality

My first child, Ian, was born on January 4, 2003, a week and half before his due date. This is insignificant in the world of obstetrics and very significant in the world of a 38 week old pregnant woman who very much wants the baby out. It was suprising that it happened the first pregnancy, which sometimes drags out a long time for some people. We watched the Ohio State game (my alma mater) the night of January 3rd, they won the national championship, so how fitting that my water broke immediately after during the evening news?

But perhaps the most poignant point is that Ian shares his birthday with his paternal grandfather, Phil, who Bryan lost prematurely a decade earlier due to heart disease. This touches us greatly because Bryan misses his father with such intensity and wishes he were here to see our children. Because I didn't meet Bryan until after his father passed away, I, too, never got to meet this great man. I don't know if things happen out of coincidence or for reason, but Ian has a personality that we help shape but we like to say comes from his grandfather.

Bryan and I are both fairly introverted. We've worked hard at developing good social skills, and we both chose careers (Human Resources) that honed those. At the end of the day, though, sometimes we just like to kick back and relax. Bryan's dad was an extrovert and worked in sales, and in his spare time, in his small town, worked in local politics...always the crowd pleaser.

We've watched our son from a young age, and he has always been amicable, willing to share a smile, willing to cooperate, willing to reach out and help and try to make you laugh. I was dropping Ian off at school today, and there appeared to be a new child there named Anthony. The class was in the middle of circle time, and Anthony had to go to the bathroom. He looked worried. All of a sudden Ian shouted out to me he had to go to. So I let him run back there with Anthony. A minute later there was a cacophony of giggles coming from the midget bathroom. (Have you seen those little toilets..they are so cute!)

The teacher and I go to check to see what is going on. Ian and Anthony are standing there going pee standing with their pants around their ankles. (picture this in your mind's eye..it is so cute to see to little toddler butts with pants and underwear around their ankles peeing in midget toilets) Well, Anthony is trying to pee, and Ian is making him laugh. Ian had to pee about a teaspoon. I think he just went back there to make him comfortable. But it loosened him up and he felt better.

Then I saw Ian get ready to go sit back in circle and he chose to sit next to a child who Bryan affectionately refers to as "Crazy Clyde". (just joking...because we have been there five times and have never heard him talk!) Clyde seems to be painfully shy. However, as I was walking out the door, I heard Clyde say to Ian, "Hi, Ian." Oh, my Gosh. I was amazed that Clyde could speak. I think Ian has a very amazing ability to identify with many types of peers/people.

I think Bryan and I have the ability to shape what Ian does with his personality, but personalities are very much inborn, to an extent, in my opinion. So, no big time politics, my son...no corruption, OK? I don't want anything to happen to your sweet disposition.