My Son the Flirt:
I’ve known for some time that Simon is a pretty social kid. The first signs came at Chanukah this year, when Simon stayed up for far too many hours enjoying all the Goldstein kids, only to come home and have an inevitable breakdown from fatigue. The same cycle repeated itself again at Valentine’s Day, when Simon again soldiered through his usual nap times so he could coo and smile at everyone at dinner and dessert.
But nothing prepared me for the week-long extended flirtation session that Simon enjoyed on our trip to the Bay Area. The kid was relentless. A real Casanova in the making. For the better part of seven days, Simon smiled at, cooed at, and made eyes at everyone who crossed his path. Especially women. He was shameless in a way that would be unbearable in an adult, but was unbearably cute in a baby.
Simon’s flirtatiousness added to our fun on vacation, because almost everywhere we went, Matt and I were greeted by smiles, nods, waves, and statements like “What a cutie!” or “Look at those dimples!” from those crossing Simon’s path.
It reached the point where we would hear an admiring phrase or laugh, look down at Simon, and follow his eyes to see who he was making eyes at and find his new friend. The short list of those he flirted with included all the San Francisco aunties (Kelley, Katherine, Yun, Christine, Susan, Judy and Harriette), several of the San Francisco uncles (especially Shawn), random people passing by in the airport terminals, several flight attendants (especially his true love Stacy), the wait staff at Chow, a handful of BART fellow travelers, and a group of bikini-clad twenty-somethings at Stinson Beach.
Much like his giant head, Simon comes by his social streak from both sides of his family. On my side of the family, my mom and Bubbie are/were both relentlessly social people. For that matter, I’m no slouch in that department myself. And on Matt’s side of the family, Evie and Matt are very social introverts while Jim is without doubt the single most extroverted person I have ever met. For anyone who knew my bubbie, you know that’s saying something.
Unlike the giant head, I rather hope Simon will hang on to this social streak. I’ll love him no matter what, of course. Heck, I even have a thing for introverts; I’m married to one and can count several more among my closest friends. But at this tender age, having Simon be so social is a delight, and having so many delight in him only adds to the joy.