Sensing-Intuition: Expectations, Context, Anticipation, Specifics

Sensing mother, Intuitive father

Christine co-parents with Peter. "When there's a problem at school," says Christine, "I tell Peter everything that's happened and provide facts about the people involved. He takes all my specifics and comes up with a strategy for presenting our concerns.

"As a big picture person, Peter keeps me from being overly focused on details. But I'm more realistic, and we need that realism to temper Peter's expectations of the children. He's not always clear about what's appropriate behavior for a child of a particular age."

Bess says, "As an Intuitive, I'm better at anticipating needs and planning ahead. Harry is quick to point out what's likely to be too much. Before learning type, I resented his negativity. But now I seek his perspective as a way of making my expectations more workable."

Sensing mother, Sensing father

"As a family, we've enjoyed so many rich experiences, from fishing trips and football games to holiday celebrations with our extended family," says Frank. "But when we face a complex problem, it's hard to see a way out."

"Our son was struggling academically in high school," explains Leslie. "Both of us had been good students. So we couldn't imagine what was wrong or come up with ideas for fixing it. We felt stuck until we consulted with the school counselor."

Intuitive mother, Intuitive father

"As Intuitives, Meg and I both take the long view, looking for overall trends in our children's personalities and needs," says John. "We try to react to the situation at hand within that larger context. Neither of us wants to win the battle but lose the war."

"Still, some household details don't get our attention until there's a crisis—like no food in the refrigerator and company's coming," laughs Meg. "More than once we've argued as we push ourselves to get everything done, including mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and buying a grill for a barbecue."

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