God help me - I'm an Extrovert.

You learn lots of things about yourself when you are on sabbatical. Many of my clergy friends and colleagues have made really big decisions because the time away has given them the time to think - really deeply - about what is going on in their life and ministry.

So I've had the time to come to a major conclusion... brace yourself. I am an extrovert.

Now, I've always known that there have been times in my life when I've waivered on the E/I of Myers-Briggs typecasting. I was a shy kid who wanted the ground to swallow her up in grade school, and yet I pursued music and acting alongside much more gifted peers. As a teen, a small group of friends were gathered around me. We called ourselves the Peanut Gallery because none of us fit in anywhere else but with each other.

As an adult I married a man who is so attached to books that he nearly broke into tears when I drew the line at two six foot bookcases and two five foot bookcases. My daughter and son both show signs of introversion, they are deep thinkers who can be somewhat crowd-averse. And if you were to poll other clergy of mainline denominations you would find we skew greatly towards introversion.

With two weeks left of sabbatical, I find that I am craving people. When I go to the supermarket I strike up conversations with strangers. When my family comes home I grill them for details about themselves and the way they are living in their worlds. With no one around, I've begun having spirited conversations with our dogs Bennie and Andrei during the day. And I've looked at the next 13 days and set up something to do each day so that I am out in society... lunch with a friend, doctor's appointment, haircut, gym. And I miss church meetings.

I realize that sometimes (often, actually), I need to talk it out with someone... I need to have someone hear me thinking out loud. And I need to hear people doing the same. So I raise my cup of ice cold water to all the misunderstood extroverts out there, those of us who need to hear ourselves talk and be engaged in a messy web of relationships. Here's to you!