Not unusual behavior for a preschooler, right?  It would seem pretty standard. Except that his five older siblings really never did this. (Yes, there are six kids in all. More on that another time. Stay with me.)

That’s right: none of the other kids ever carried a toy companion, had an imaginary friend, or created any sort of pseudo-best-friend.

But, those kids had each other. The older five kids’ ages span only seven years, so they always had playmates. As pre-schoolers, they played games together, built forts, performed plays, and were generally inseparable.

When faced with the rare moment that these kids found themselves alone, they panicked. After mere  moments on their own, we heard them say, “there’s NOTHING to do, can I have a play date?”

It was actually troublesome. In fact, during their elementary school years, I worked hard to encourage them to build playing-alone skills: teaching them how to play solitaire, buying single-player games, and arranging times for each child to spend entertaining him/ herself.

Now, there’s this littlest brother, who is seven years younger than his closest sibling. He doesn’t have the constant companionship of peers. He learned early how to entertain himself.

And, just as early in life, he created a best friend, in Cha-Cha The Monkey, to accompany him.

All this has me thinking about what social creatures we all are. This isn’t a revolutionary concept; there are many scientific studies that reinforce this theme.

But, to see our social nature play out in such real ways, every day, confirms for me that I must continue to focus on the right things.

Our lives, our world, and our experiences are meant to be shared. God has created a place where we depend on one another. Where we yearn to share our lives. Where we expect to give and receive. And where, if we foster our relationships, lives will be forever better.

So, I thank you for being part of my life. Your presence here, in my social circle, is appreciated. Your companionship is treasured. Thank you.

This month has been jammed full of me trying to figure stuff out – my business, my educational plans, my philanthropic efforts, and my family. And, it is indeed slowly coming together. In fact, so much has come together that this post can’t very well describe it all.

Instead, here are a few random thoughts from this month of May:

• Titles are entertaining. Starting my own business means that I need to assign myself a title, something that I am not enjoying. What I am enjoying, however, is that I now notice and appreciate everyone else’s titles. At Shell Oil, there is a position called “Game Changer.” Now that is a title. On a lighter note, Amanda Brinkman is the “Chief Gardener” at Carrot. And, my newly-deemed favorite title, from our friends at NATO, is “Supreme Allied Commander.” All this hasn’t really helped me give myself a title, but it sure is fun.
• Public transit is awesome. When I was at Best Buy, I was provided a free MetroPass, which gave me limitless access to the Twin Cities’ bus system. I used this benefit quite frequently. Now, I still regularly ride the bus, even though I have to pay bus fare. At some point, I’ll blog about all the reasons that the bus system is so great, but for now, just know that my adoration of public transit is not impacted by the price I pay for it.
• I’m an extrovert. Yes, I knew this already. So did you. But in this month of setting my own pace, defining my schedule, building my daily agendas, my extroverted tendencies have become glaringly apparent. The days that are filled with meetings and conference calls are my good days. Days when I resolve to “get work done” – at my desk, solitary – are huge drainers for me.

Tomorrow will start the month of June.

By month’s end, I will have defined a business rhythm that starts each day by engaging with others so that I can keep my energy high. I will have continued to ride the bus around town, even if fares are raised again. And, I will have chosen some title for myself, even if I don’t have the courage to print “Supreme Commander” on my business cards.