Concerning Street Design

The Banana is a strong extrovert in a household of strong introverts (except for her little brother, who is also somewhat extroverted).  She continually surprises me because her outlook on circumstances is just so different from my own!  For example, the other day we were driving away from YaYa’s oboe teacher’s house.  The oboe teacher lives on a street that ends in a cul-de-sac, and the easiest way to turn around is to drive to the end of the cul-de-sac, go around a little patch of ground in the center of the street and then go back up the street.  We were circling around that patch of ground in the center of the cul-de-sac when The Banana said wistfully, “I’ve always wanted to live on a street like this!”

I have NEVER wanted to live on a cul-de-sac, so I asked “Why is that?”

“I just think it would be so much fun to have that patch of ground in between all the houses.  Everyone shares the ground, and it would be the perfect place for all the kids in all the houses to come out and play together, like an island for kids to have fun together.  Maybe you could even put a swing set there.”

Not only have I never wanted to live on a cul-de-sac, but I’ve definitely never considered the community applications of a shared piece of ground in the middle of the street.  She’s right.  It WOULD be fun to play with your neighbors on common ground in a cul-de-sac, but I think I’d probably only make it a very short time before I’d need to go back to my own yard for a break and a deep breath away from people.  Even when I was a kid I was like this.  (It’s a good thing I grew up on a farm in a sparsely populated area).

It’s not that I don’t love people, or want to spend time with them, or serve others.  It’s just that I’m very protective of my time alone so I can refresh.  In many ways I don’t have the gift of hospitality (but I am hospitable in certain small ways).  The Banana just loves spending time with other people.  It makes her so happy, energizes her and fills her up.  She’s always looking for ways to include other people (and I’m usually looking for ways to escape from a group of people).

For the record, I really do love spending time with The Banana.  She’s such a fun girl.