Introversion is not a character flaw

I appreciate all who have contacted us to indicate that you have followed our trip and enjoyed this blog. At first, I was concerned by this praise and felt some pressure. I have a three-hour class on Thursday evenings (tonight) and it takes me a good amount of time to prepare. Should I keep working on my class notes or work on a blog post. I decided to treat the decision like a vote. How many contact me with positive things to say about the class versus how many contact me with positive things to say about the blog? You can see that I generated a post and you can guess at the vote totals for the week.

I have a reputation in the family for my wedding reception speeches. I have two daughters and I was allowed to say something on the occasion of their weddings. Let's just say that I have a little different style than most and folks seemed to enjoy my comments. Part of their reaction, I think, was that many had never watched me function in this type of situation. After hearing the comments offered at the wedding of my oldest daughter, my mother-in-law approached me, said she really enjoyed my speech, and added that this was the most she had ever heard me talk. She had a way of saying things like this - things that at first seem like a compliment and then when you think about it a little more, you are not sure. My first reaction was - you have known me for 25 years and you must know I speak weekly to hundreds of people at a time. What is it you think I do for a living? Then, I understood. People have different ways of evaluating people and form opinions about them from circumstances familiar to them. My mother-in-law mostly knew me from family gatherings. I rarely play games. Therefore, I did not sit around playing Scrabble and chit chatting about this or that with the relatives. On her turf, doing the things that were common there, I suppose I seemed a bit peculiar. I might sit in a room with other people and read a book or look at my computer. Introversion is not a character flaw. It is just another of those characteristics that make each of us unique.

I do enjoy sharing stories and this is what I try to do with a couple of my blogs. If one of my stories seems funny, it is because the things I observe and comment on have captured something that we both find to be amusing.

Time to work on the content for tonight's class.