There was some sort of community thing this weekend, which I somehow suckered myself into attending because cheer. Look, I can't explain why I do the things I do; I just randomly volunteer to do things and then can't remember why.
So.
Me.
A whole day of cheer stuff. In public. Around other people. Lots and lots of people.
Mila, of course, wanted to be at the center of it all. The kid is an extrovert beyond all extroverts. She's not going to walk up to strangers and start chatting all that often (but ... sometimes), but she most definitely gets energy from being around lots and lots of people. Crowds are her jam, you guys. The more people the better.
So we spent the day purposely talking to strangers and surrounded by a crowd. There were about 1358917981 points in time when I looked at Mila and asked her, "How are you mine?" because SUCH AN EXTROVERT.
It was beyond obvious because the kid knows more people than I do. There were multiple times when grown adults who I had never seen before said, "Hi, Mila!" and they pronounced her name correctly so obviously they know her. And then there were kids.
So many kids.
Mila ran into at least six of her friends while walking around this community thing.
She wasn't shy about grabbing their hands and leading them to her favorite things. It was kind of nice to see Mila being encouraging of others, especially considering she has recently been A JERK to her sister. We're talking about a kid who cut all the leaves off of her sister's bamboo plant because she knew it would hurt her sister's feelings.
There was no remorse. Just glee.
The fact that Little Miss Piss Off Alexis can be encouraging and supportive of her peers is an excellent plot twist.
My favorite example was when one of her friends was scared to go on a bounce house thing and Mila was all, "It is kind of scary from outside, but it's SO FUN inside" and then she showed her friend and held her hand and there were hugs and ... huh. Maybe Mila does know how to be kind.
Just maybe.
It's a good thing because kind extroverts are definitely my favorite kind of extroverts.