Defeating Shy

Not sure how to look at shy behavior. I grew up a very shy little girl, afraid of strangers and even friends and family at times. When going from jr high to high school I had anxiety about the thought of riding the bus even because of not knowing people on the bus or who I would sit by. I would go to the extreme of pretending to be sick so I didn't have to go to school if I knew my friends weren't going to be there because I was afraid of who I would sit by at lunch or play with during recess. When I went to college I didn't branch out and meet new people; I met a friend or two and stuck with them, clung to them because was too shy to get to know other people. I am 31 years old and still struggle with being shy. I do great in environments that are work related, or if I know ahead of time things I can talk about with people. When it comes to hanging out with women though that are close to my age I get so nervous about whether or not they will like me, how to act around them and I fear the gossip that occurs after. It's really ridiculous and as I type this I am reminded again of how silly it is. But I get so shy to the point I even get water in my eyes at times.

McKenna has been very shy these first few years of life and I recently read in a magazine to not say your child is shy, or to at least not say it in front of them. It's putting titles on them and creating characters that may not really be there. SO lately when McKenna is shy I say, "You're okay, you're not shy, you're a big girl, go play, be nice, these are your friends." So far the positive verbal cues haven't been working but one can hope that they will start to influence her in a positive way.

Tonight we had a play date with Kendall, Carissa's daughter. Keaton was so excited he ran around the house screaming, "Kendall, where are you?" They ran in circles around the house, chased each other, played hide and seek, and just had a grand time. McKenna didn't participate or play until the last five minutes, and even then it wasn't playing. She went to Kendall and asked for a cheerio and when we left she agreed to give Kendall a hug and kiss goodbye.

Tomorrow is MOPS. The twins have only gone together one time so I will be anxious to see how they do tomorrow and I'm hoping McKenna will participate and interact with the other kids.