A House Divided

    In the area where I live, generally, a “house divided” refers to a residence that inhabits those that are fans of The Ohio State University Buckeyes and some that cheer on a team geographically north of Ohio.  I do not have that issue in my house – although my wife, who is sport agnostic, does like to push my buttons when she speaks of universities as only institutions of higher learning.  However, I do live in a divided house: half are extroverts, half are introverts.  This revelation, although not new to me, hit me especially hard this morning as I was continuously interrupted making breakfast.

    On a typical Saturday morning in my house, especially during the school year, the dogs usually let me “sleep in” (I am NOT a morning person) to 0700.  This morning was on par, Potter shaking and “huffing” at me to wake up at 0657.  I had already yelled at him at 0545 to ‘lie down’ which has become my version of hitting the snooze on the alarm.  Luna was also poised and ready to rush outside so she could take stock of what happened in her yard overnight.  The morning was normal.

    Now, Sydney (my youngest) and I hold the extrovert titles in my house.  Heather and Rachel have command over the introvert category.  That being said, I do enjoy the quiet, calmness of the morning.  This particular morning (after getting the coffee pot fired up), I decided to make French Toast while I worked on my letter to you in my head.  Originally, I was going to share an article I posted on LinkedIn this past week.

    I still think the article is worth sharing because I am still talking with WAY too many of you who keep putting this off.  Check this out: https://www.nextavenue.org/advance-care-planning-gift/  If you don’t know who to turn to for help with this planning, please contact me.  I know some very good people who can help in this area. 

    As I was cooking and formulating how I wanted to write, the dogs were driving me CRAZY!!  Then I realized it was mostly Potter.  Potter -- who doesn’t like being around other dogs, other than his sister, who doesn’t like too many people around him, who gets over stimulated, who is, arguably, the introvert -- wouldn’t leave me alone!  He was so consuming that I couldn’t concentrate on writing and I began to burn (although I didn’t) the French Toast. 

    This got me wondering about the introvert vs. extrovert coexistence, so I did some research. The first of the two articles worth sharing discusses what ‘introvert’ and ‘extrovert’ mean: https://www.thoughtco.com/introvert-vs-extrovert-4152958#:~:text=Introvert%20and%20extrovert%20are%20terms%20that%20psychologists%20have,the%20five-factor%20model%2C%20widely%20used%20to%20measure%20personality.

    One thing I’m reminded is that this isn’t an “all or none” personality trait.  Just as I am very comfortable in a large group of people, I still enjoy the quiet, solitude of Saturday mornings.  Similarly, as my wife would prefer an evening of reading, she does enjoy the company of a small group of friends.  I also think it interesting that understanding our own personal traits as well as those of others can improve our lives.  Instead of getting upset because my introvert friends (or wife) don’t want to hang out in a crowded (pre-Covid) bar listening to a local band, I’ll know to invite them over on a cool evening with a nice fire in the back yard.  https://www.cnet.com/health/the-difference-between-introverts-and-extroverts/

    Back to the dogs: Potter, who continued to interrupt me throughout my writing this, is now sacked out a long side his sister, just a few feet from my desk – a house divided that is living (mostly) peacefully under one roof.

    Please remember that we are “here” and available for you as well.  If you have any questions or concerns, financial or otherwise, please do not hesitate to call or email.  If you have friends, family, or neighbors you feel would benefit from a conversation with me, I’m more than happy to have a call or jump on a Zoom meeting with them. 

    As always, I hope that you are doing well, and staying safe & healthy!