My husband and I are what you would call ambiverts. We can people, and we can people well. We can party hard, speak in public, talk to strangers. But it takes a toll on us, and we need a good amount of alone time to recover. We’re perfectly happy sitting at home, alone, reading books or playing video games, and not really talking to anyone.

Our son, however, is the complete opposite.

Randomly, he’ll ask, “Are we visiting anyone today?” He’ll say, moments after his grandmother and his uncle leave after a visit, “I miss them.” He needs an audience for pretty much anything he does, and he always wants to talk to people, despite his occasional shyness. Oneal tells me that when I’m out of the house, and it’s just the two of them, he has to watch Lucas, whether he’s doing homework or playing video games.

One time, Lucas told me, “Meemee, can you watch me read?” I was like, but I told you to read so I wouldn’t have to watch you! I was so bewildered that he needed an audience.

For his Moving Up Day last May, in addition to getting his certificate for having completed Kinder, we knew he would be performing in the program. That morning, before we left the house, he was nervous about his performance, and he was telling us that he didn’t want to go first. We told his teachers, and we were so touched when one of them went to him and gave him a pep talk. I promised him that I would be right in front of the stage as he performed, and if he was nervous, he didn’t have to look at anybody else but me.

Soon the emcee, his best friend Thiago, called Lucas as the first performer for the program. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Lucas got up from his seat and went onto the stage, and he started singing. Imagine my surprise when he got to the chorus, and he handed to mic to Thaigo, and he started dancing!

Not once did he pause or hesitate. We were so stunned!

It’s all sorts of interesting and exhausting to have such an extrovert for a son. Patiently we have to explain why we can’t go out every day, why we have to schedule and plan our visits and hangouts with other people, why we need quiet time. Certainly, we’re learning a lot from him and his boundless energy–even if we can barely keep up!