Call Me Mom to a Sanguine

I mentioned that I’m of the introvert side yet I was blessed with a truly extroverted daughter. She is horrified at the thought of a day indoors “relaxing.” Her joy comes from people, activity, more people, and more activity, oh, and birds.

All animals have feelings and needs, even the stuffed ones.

My little Red was barely old enough to hold herself up in the shopping cart when she started showing her sanguine side. She would flash her toothless smile until she caught someone’s eye. Of course, it was usually an older person and that person had to stop and exclaim over my little redheaded grinning wonder. We never spent less than an hour at a store thanks to this people-person baby. I think I talked to more people in the first months of her life than I did in my entire lifetime before her!

Then she learned to communicate using sign language and grunts. Grunts got her the attention and once eye contact was made, she could sign. Shopping trips got longer.

Feathered friends are beloved.

Then she started stringing words together…and it was all downhill from there!

I had to catch her last Sunday. She was busily working the crowd when I got stopped by a friend to chat. I turned around and of course, my little Sanguine was long gone. Thankfully she’s quite familiar with the church and the people so another friend pointed me in the right direction. She had gone to use the restroom, came out chatting with an elderly parishioner, and was trying to straighten her dress (it was tucked into the back of her tights.) Of course, once she saw me waiting she launched into her excuses for slipping away from me. She pulled her dress up to show me her panties (just as my boss, the senior pastor walks up), “See Mommy, I didn’t peep in my panties! I made it to the bathroom all by myself!” (I think lack of self-consciousness is a trait of a sanguine.) The pastor, a father of girls, laughed and made a remark about panties. Keeping her dress up, Red pointed out the princesses. Red’s mother, the deeply blushing melancholic, was desperately trying to push her gown down, explain modesty, and get out of there all at the same time.

Friends are close, many, and giggly

But Red is also one of the tenderest sanguines. It doesn’t take much to please her…or hurt her feelings. She saw that I was manning a sign up table and she slipped in with the throng of people. She filled out one of the registration sheets with her first and last names, asked me how to spell a few more things, then happily handed me her sheet. I could’ve cried on the spot. My little baby is growing up. She put on her registration sheet that she likes pink and loves her mom and dad. Of course at that moment an older boy came up and rather cruelly informed Red that she was too little to sign up and she would have to go away. (He didn’t realize I was her mom…) Her eyes filled with tears and I hastened to reassure her that it was fine. I think she was more hurt that someone didn’t like her or could speak so harshly to her.

Living with a sanguine is a blessing…yes, even at 5 in the morning when a cherubic face is at your bedside asking if we can get up and start our day.

For now,

Call me mom to a sanguine

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