My daughter graduated from pre-K 4 yesterday and the sweetest moment of the day was when she ran to us in the crowd. Her younger sister, our three year old daughter, ran to her and wrapped her arms around her big sister with such love. I happened to catch the exact moment with a camera.
That moment edified me.
Any large family will tell you, it's not always easy. You multiply the cost of the shoes (times 4 in our case) and that same principle goes for swimming classes and summer camps and ballet lessons. It also means that the kids share lots of things and aren't always happy about it. It also means that there's not a whole lot of "me" time in our house and I mean that goes for everyone.
It means summer vacations are not as elaborate (hello backyard camping!) and you have to get creative with just about every activity. It sometimes means an argument because your little brother flushed your favorite necklace down the toilet or tears because your best friend has better toys (that haven't been tampered with by a little brother).
But,
it also means, four times the snuggles, four times the hugs and four times the kisses.
And, there is nothing in the world, I tell you nothing that will prepare you for what it feels like to have your entire household cheer when you make a happy announcement. There's nothing like seeing the entire crew eating together or listening to a funny family story.
To me, having a large family means it's good even when it's hard.
It means even when something not-so-fun happens everyone can still laugh about it. Laughter in numbers is always uplifting. Like on Saturday when one of our children threw up all over the others on the sidewalk beside the pool in front of everyone. She swam too soon after eating and so she got sick to her stomach. We quickly cleaned it all up, informed the lifeguard then showered all the kids and loaded them in the car. It was one of those situations where, as parents you can either laugh or cry. Somehow, when we got in the car we all started laughing so hard we were crying with tears of laughter.
We decided this day would go down in history as a family classic.
And, we officially started the summer off with a bang.
At the end of the day, it's all about how you look at it.
p.s. the giveaway winner for the eshakti dress as chosen by random.org was Athena!
Thank you to everyone who entered! Athena, congratulations and I will email you!
5 comments:
We just bought Joey a very similar pair of Teva's and we LOVE them so very much because they adjust to fit over his orthodic!
It's true that kids in big families don't get as much focused attention from parents, but I think all the sibling love makes up for it, don't you? Not to paint a totally rosy picture or anything, but there's nothing sweeter than a teenage boy taking care of his little sister.
EXACTLY, Leslie. Exactly.
Rebecca, those texas have been passed down through all the children to Oliver if that's any testament to how amazing they are. I'm a big fan.
I love that last picture with the shoes because I had four pairs of shoes, too.
Of course, mine were three boys' and one girl's pair.
;)
What a beautiful post! Family = Joy!
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