| April 2004 - This feature is a regular article where I share my observations, reflections, and "musings" about being a mother of a large family. I hope you enjoy my ramblings, and perhaps they will help inspire you, make you smile, or at the very least help pass a few minutes in your hectic day. |
It was a normal day. The mail came and there was stack of magazines and catalogs. It doesnt take long for businesses to learn that kids live in a certain household. Just purchase a toy or childrens clothing once or twice over the Internet and you end up on every mailing list imaginable. Usually the catalogs hit the garbage can before even being opened. Yes, I admit that temptation can be strong. Much easier to avoid buying something if I dont know what Im missing. This particular day, however, a catalog caught my eye. There was an attractive child on the cover wearing a summery blue dress. I was hooked. I spent the next 10 minutes browsing the catalog. I was aghast at the pricing. $50 for a childs dress was staggering. Quality craftsmanship, the description bragged. On a large family budget, $50 could buy several outfits at the thrift store or clearance bin. Still, I could not help but drool at a couple of the designs which I was absolutely convinced would look precious on my girls. Then the rationale came into play. Sure, its $50, but if I buy it for my oldest, in a couple of sizes too big, I can get a few years wear from her, then pass it down to the other 2 girls. If were lucky, we can get 10 years of good wear out of it. 50 divided by 10 is 5. $5 a year isnt a bad deal. Needless to say, I bought a couple of the dresses.
I must admit, I love the fact that in a large family I can enjoy that beautiful dress again and again, as it goes down the line. We often laugh and oogle when we see the younger child in love with a certain article of clothing that their older sibling loved just as much. Its cute to take pictures of each child in the same outfit, at the same age. Im sure itll be even more precious looking at those photos 10 years from now. While one may think this is a superficial reason to have a large family, I would like to make clear that hand-me-down potential of clothing is by no means a reason to have more children, but it is one of the pleasant surprises.
We are so often bombarded by the petty negatives: More kids equals more housework. If you have a large family, your sex life will suffer. Youll have to invest in a minivan. Youll never get to enjoy a cup of coffee in peace. Well, why cant we focus on the little unexpected perks of a large family. Hmmm....
Youll never have to worry if there are enough kids in the neighborhood. The second you move in, there always seems more than enough. And the shy ones who live nearby are bound to show up one day to play with the gang.
Even if several of the kids are in a non-affectionate mood, you can usually find one that is willing to give you that much-needed hug. There's never a lack of snuggling.
You can save tons of money by not buying those pregnancy and parenting magazines, since you have become an authority on the subject and people come to you for advice.
You have a very valid excuse to buy that restaurant size jar of mayonnaise that you personally think just looks really cool.
Yard work can be done in real short order when you have 10 sets of hands doing it.
Youll never have to worry about not having someone to help you in your old age.
You dont have to worry about choosing between the two baby names you just love, because chances are youll get to use the second choice sometime in the future.
You don't have to worry about explaining when you're running late, and people are actually surprised when you're on time!
The odds of at least one of your kids giving you grandkids is greatly increased.
If I had to think about it more, I could come up with quite a list of the little luxuries of my large brood. As petty as they may seem, they are the little gifts of every day life that make having my kids an even greater pleasureand thats a tall order since merely watching them grow and being a part of their lives is an immense blessing and privilege.
The joys of large families should be celebrated, from the grand and important, to the small and seemingly insignificant. While people cannot imagine how they would survive with all the noise and chaos, I cant imagine cooking a meal for two, even though I had to do just that for the first few years of my marriage. I like cooking big meals and having to be creative. I love the fact that I can feed my family of 11 for what some families of 4 spend on groceries. Of course, having a built-in babysitter so that I can sip that cup of coffee in peace is a nice perk too.
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Article by: Michelle Lehmann
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