- People count the number of your children out loud when you're in public
- you start counting your children when you're out in public
- people ask, "Are they all your's?"
- you have at least three bunk beds set up in your home
- almost everyone you know has less children than you do
- people say,"Wow! How do you manage?"
- people ask you, out of the blue, if you are Mormon or Catholic
- You buy your pots and pans in the restaurant supply store
- supposed "family size" portions seem awfully small
- you complain,"doesn't anyone make large dining tables anymore
- you've heard "don't you know what causes that?" more times than you'd care to remember
- you've forgotten what it's like to be alone anywhere but in the bathroom
- your children never run out of playmates among their siblings
- everything you buy is in bulk
- people ask, "Don't you get overwhelmed?"
- you and your husband can no longer hold each child's hand while crossing the street
- it takes a wonderfully long time to hug and kiss everybody good night
- one of your children looks wistfully at the newborn and asks you, "Can't you have another baby really soon? I hardly get to hold this one because everybody else is taking turns."
- you realize that few houses are designed with your family in mind
- people ask you if you've ever accidentally left any of your children behind
- life around your family never seems boring or dull
- your tent is the largest one on the campground
- you feel sorry for people with only two children
- you sometimes wonder what on earth mothers with only two children do with their spare time
- whenever you set your dining table, it looks like it used to look when you were expecting a lot of company
- you read a cookbook and joke "They call these meals? Sounds like a snack to me."
- your gratitude at the abundance of God's blessing moves you to tears unexpectedly
- you start thinking yourself as "rich in children"
- you secretly think that life in your family might possibly hold much more adventure than life in smaller families
- you are vastly amused at much modern parenting advice, realizing that it is unnecessary, impossible, impractical, or simply silly to try to apply it in a large family setting
- it seems as if you pack more stuff going on a short trip than some people pack when moving their entire household
- you and your husband laugh,"And to think that when we got married, we wanted only four children!"
- your husband sighs happily, "I've finally got my dream cars"--and it's these 2 vehicles
I checked off everyone on the list for us!!! How is that possible??? There was not one that we haven't heard, done or seen. We have 2 bunkbeds...going on 3 after we move, we count kids, we get counted ALL the time..in fact, out of amusement Grayson and Evye have started counting who counts us, we get asked the Mormon/Catholic thing more times than we can count, we've marveled over how small all dining tables are...as we have recently been shopping for a much needed one, Brad teases about our van and school bus....calling them the lead rockets, I've wondered so many times what my friend does all day with just her one baby and what one of the other fire wives does with just her 2 young children, it takes us at least 20 minutes to make the bedtime rounds, my kids are begging for at least twins and hoping for triplets so they have enough babies to hold, we get asked if we've ever left any kids behind...and we have to answer yes, and whoever said you get alone time in the bathroom????, absolutely everything is bought in bulk, and we actually bought our last set of pots and pans from the restaurant supply isle - Brad was so proud...I could go on with all of them! I think the question of a lifetime had to be when my sister and I were out with all of our kids eating lunch oneday a few years ago. At the time she was pregnant with her 8th and I had just had Garrison and Grant. This old bitter hag came up and asked if we were part of that religion where we were married to the same man!!!!!!! I guess 2 women with 72 kids out in public brought to mind visions of polygamy. We still laugh over that one.
And my sister in law just informed me today that with the birth of Baby 8 that we will now be considered a "mega" family. She pointed me in the direction of this website and this was one of their answers on the FAQ page. It's an incredible website. I haven't been there in a very long while and the improvements they have made are great. Their FAQ page, along with their "Advantages of Having a Large Family" page are very well said in every way. But here's their definition of a mega family. I have to say that I can agree that by their terms given that we are now considered a mega family if that is what qualifies. I have always thought mega families were 12 or more children. But we have now encountered all of these deciding factors so I guess we're in that category now. Here is their definition.
"A mega family is considered "larger than large". In some respects these families have what would be equivalent to 2 large families. Classically the term "mega" describes families with 10 or more children. On Lotsofkids.com we have loosened the definition a bit, classifying those with 8 or more children as mega, since that is when the family dynamic changes dramatically for most people (driving a 12-15 passenger van everywhere...or bus!, needing 3 hotel rooms on vacation, etc)
Just some humor for the day.
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