Just Call Me Type AB TechyDad

During the recent open house at NHL’s school, we spoke with his teacher.  During the conversation, she urged B to relax about some things, saying it is under control.  B admitted to being quite a Type A personality.  That got me wondering: What type personality am I?

In most respects, I’m a Type B.  I’m laid back and am willing to let things happen.  I’ll take action when I need to, but I try to stay calm about it.  Perhaps this is my mother’s influence (she always told me not to “rock the boat”) or perhaps this is the result of being bullied growing up (staying unemotional was a way of protecting myself).  In any event, I’m willing to just accept what happens and make the best of it.

This aspect of my personality makes completing projects difficult.  I find myself relaxing about deadlines and putting off important work to relax with video games.  I often-times need a Type A personality pushing me to move past the deadline.

On the other hand, I can be very Type A at times.  I don’t like going out without some sort of plan as to what we’re doing.  Just “seeing what happens” isn’t my kind of outing.  I might not plan out every second of the excursion, but I’ll want to know the basics.  Furthermore, once I have a schedule of events in mind, I’m very resistant to changing it.  When Irene threatened to ruin our Disney World trip, I clung to the schedule up until the last moment.

With projects, my Type A personality kicks in during the middle of a project that I love.  I begin to chart out every aspect of the project, assign an estimate for completion and plan my work over the course of the next week or so.  I’ll spend hours coding one little feature because it needs to be perfect.

I can see the buds of this duality in NHL.  He’ll be very laid back about some topics, not particularly caring when (or if) something gets done.  Suddenly, though, Type A NHL will kick in and he’ll obsess over whether something is perfect or exactly when something will be done.

Of course, at this stage of his development, it’s quite clear where the A-B line is.  If you ask him to do something, it gets put into the B bucket.  Clean the toys on the floor?  Sure, that’ll happen.  Eventually.  (Maybe.)  Meanwhile, if it is something that he wants, into the A bucket it goes.  What TV show is on right now?  Sorry, mom and dad, but right now Looney Tunes Show is on and it’s a new show and I’ve got to see it right now and I know it’s being recorded on the DVR but it’s ON RIGHT NOW DON’T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL!!!!!!  (insert Stabby Face ala The Animated Woman.)

I guess, as NHL grows, I’ll be getting a taste of my own Type AB medicine.