To be an introvert is no weakness

“My heart was broken already when I came from school,” little Egg told me on Wednesday evening. “And when I dropped a box, I couldn’t help crying. I cried and I cried, about Emma who mistreated me. About my little stuffed kitten, about everything.”

“What’s that about your little friend Emma?” I asked.

Little Egg started crying again. Apparently Emma, one of her classmates, told her that she won’t play with Egg if my daughter doesn’t give her a toy every day. She exhausted all her unwanted toys and the previous morning, she had to part with her stuffed kitten, the toy she sleeps with.

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I was devastated. I know how difficult it is for extreme introverts such as Egg and I to make friends and the way her craving for friendship was exploited over a matter of weeks, shattered my heart. I drove to the school and dropped into the headmaster’s office unannounced.

To his credit, the issue was resolved swiftly yesterday morning. But I am still crying on the inside for people as soft as my little girl. Some people have a natural defencelessness.

To be an introvert is no weakness – we can be as strong as the toughest extrovert, but we are simply not designed to cherish conflict. We treasure friendships and relationships, because we find it extremely difficult to build them.

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But for some reason, some people see it as an invitation to abuse our trust and unconditional dedication to those around us.

My dear little daughter, I’m devastated that you had to learn at such an early age that the cruelty of life often forces the softer ones in our community to stand up and fight, despite it not being in our nature.

It is sick and wrong but over time, us softies develop a hard crust to shield us from life’s challenges. This will not be the last time people will disappoint you.

Soft people are diamonds – each and every one of them. Yet we hurt them over and over. I can’t be there to protect you for the rest of your life. But as long as I am here, I will be the shelter where you can be comfortable in your vulnerability.

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If life mistreats you, run, my child. Run back to the soft arms of your dad, the soft heart where you have lived since the day you were born.