It’s a gorgeous day out, sunny & a beautifully comfortable amount of warm. We had some family friends over for a slumber party last night and participated in lots of long, deep talks as one does when staying up with friends late into the night. I love having people come stay the night like that – the casualness that develops as the night grows longer and in the morning when everyone’s nodding hello over their coffee or tea before anything can actually be done.

Usually folks who stay the night are not the people we see regularly. They’re friends that live far away from us and that may not be familiar to the kids. I love the way a few hours can go by and my kids start getting attached to these new adults, feeling like they’ve discovered amazing friends and people they didn’t know would love them too. I love what happens when people who have children, visit us without their children, and have all this unfamiliar free time and spend it on my kids. It’s such a gift.

I love what happens when friends who have kids do bring their kids. It’s fun to see new life & excitement brought to the things my kids have become accustomed to. They suddenly remember they really enjoy that thing too and spend hours with it and their new friends. Then there are the times when my kids surprise me and show me they’re learning how to be hosts themselves. It’s a different kind of thing than when their own friends come home with them after school. There’s a completely different dynamic when an entire family is here, and here overnight, and I love it. It catches me by surprise almost every time.

It’s funny, because I should know this. I should remember this. After all, I’m an ambivert – that’s the term used when you’re not mostly introverted or extroverted. I’m a solid combination of the two.

And yet there are times when I seem to forget the extroversion part. I get into happy habits of reading and quiet and being with just our family at home. Seeing small groups of people at the places we normally go, talking to friends I run into, but not really seeking anyone out. I can go for really long periods of time being happy things are like that. And then we have a slumber party and I am surprised to discover that after everyone left things feel a little empty and quiet and I start to wonder who are we going to invite over next?

The house is a little quieter than is comfortable now. The rooms are emptier than they should be.  All the quiet and peace and space I love feels off for a little bit after people leave. I want more people to interact with.

The conversation, the making & cleaning meals together, the morning walk peppered with conversation instead of podcasts is nice. Sometimes in my comfort with introversion I forget extroversion feels pretty damn nice too.