Not shy

I don't remember what I was like at Isaac's age, but later on in childhood I went through a phase when I was uncomfortable talking to people, especially adults, and most especially strangers. I certainly never initiated conversations. I guess you could have called me shy.

In the past, Isaac has sometimes been hesitant around new people. Even if he didn't mind the strange faces, he seldom reached out socially, preferring to ignore them and mind his own business. Perhaps this is changing, however, because last week I realized that Isaac is not shy. He's actually going through a gregarious phase.

Last Thursday I decided to take Isaac shopping. He has outgrown most of his pants (in length, not in width), so one of our stops was the Children's Place, where they have adjustable-waistband jeans. As we walked into the store, a salesclerk asked if we needed any help.

Isaac said to him, "We're going to buy jeans for Isaac!"

The salesclerk said, "Oh, who is Isaac? Is that your brother?"

Isaac said (referring to his unborn sister), "No, our baby is a girl."

Yeah, they had a near-total failure to understand one another, but they did have a conversation of sorts. (And we bought two pairs of jeans in size three.)

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Isaac and I ended up going out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant after that, and as he waved the kids' menu at the waitress, Isaac announced to her, "Isaac has a little menu!" (He also ate quite a lot of spicy salsa, which surprised me.) That evening, our friend Maurice from the Netherlands was visiting, so our whole family went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. Isaac told that waitress, "Isaac wants pizza!" (He also ate nearly an entire piece of tiramisu, which did not surprise me at all.) Getting back to the point, I don't think he had ever directly addressed a waiter before.

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Maurice came back to our house for a while after dinner, and Isaac immediately asked him, "Would you like to see the carpet cleaner, Maurice?" (This is one of Isaac's current enthusiasms.) Later on Isaac asked if Maurice could help him put on his pajamas and put him to bed. Prior to dinner, the two had never met.

I've seen Isaac around a lot of other adults, and I've never seen him so friendly. It will be interesting to see if his outgoing attitude lasts.