Saber Sorrow

My children have discovered Star Wars. In many households, this would not be a catastrophic discovery, but in this house, we have four boys. Too much force it is.

Are We Freaks Yet?

Nowadays it is difficult to announce the upcoming birth of a child. If that child is your sixth child. For many reasons, my husband and I have put off sharing our news. Now, we can't hide it anymore.

I have a bump. No wait, I'm 36 and have been pregnant multiple times. I do not have a bump; it's more of a mound. It is now apparent that I have not just put on weight. Plus, people we have told are beginning to leak. The baby news is draining down through the roots of our social network. Friends are shocked. Feelings are hurt. Why aren't we including them with this special announcement? Yet, people feel free to gossip, because at this point, it is gossip. People will "talk" until it is confirmed. The tongues wag: "How many are they going to have?" "They need a hobby." "Those poor kids." "How can they afford it?" We are viewed in a different light. We are different. Freaks even.

Why else would an educated, healthy, financially stable, "normal" couple decide to have so many kids ? Mormon? No. Catholic? No. Quiverfull (whatever the heck that is)? No. What is WRONG with us? That's what people really want to know. We're talking about only six kids, people. That's right, I said "only six." Do you know how many ancestors are laughing in their graves right now?

By the way, shouldn't all the educated, healthy, financially stable, "normal" couples be the ones having lots of kids? Hasn't anyone seen Idiocracy?

Do others feel guilty that they must not love their children because they didn't want more of them? That the two children they do have drives their bourbon-at-bedtime habit? Do they hold us in contempt because of what our multiplication must be doing to Mother Earth? Are they quietly or openly scornful that we must be neglecting our dirty, hungry, howling-for-attention brood? Perhaps others are frustrated that they can't figure out how we are raising such a large family and wanting more? Aren't we zombies already? Will we have to take out a second mortgage to pay the food bill or to hire a laundry management team? Are we exhausting their imaginations by living and wanting a life that is hard for them to imagine?

I think most people are glad it is us and not them. That is their choice and right. Just like it is ours.

The Kiddies

Some people think I am talking about cats when I refer to my brood as "the kiddies." I'm not old enough yet to have a house full of cats. I have a house full of kids, currently.
I don't think of ours as a huge family, but man, people are shocked when they find out I have five. Many don't get it either, since the girl is #2. If she were #5, then people would think, "oh, they kept trying until they got the girl." No, instead we blew a "perfect family" (a boy and a girl) and went and had another one (and another, etc.).

We had the first one in 1999 and then the girl in 2000, and I always say that age difference is as close as I want to get to twins. We had three more boys in 2003, 2005, and 2008. We actually had two boys in 2003, but that's a story for another time. Yes, I have actually given birth to five boys.

I have always liked the idea of four children- two boys and two girls. However, I wouldn't rule out having more. My husband liked the idea of having kids until the oldest one had a kid, so there'd always be a baby around. Still don't know if he was joking or not. I would have to say we may have stopped at four, if we had gotten that perfect girl-boy ratio. I don't know. I get baby fever as soon as they start walking. Six is my limit, though. I just know. Still deciding on number six. Hubby is worried about pushing our luck as far as health is concerned. I am 36, and my odds of having a baby with an extra chromosome are higher in theory. I would love to have another girl for sure. Not ready to make that decision yet. I just have to stay away from newborns so I can make a rational decision.

I love my kiddies. They make me laugh and make me hold my breath with joy. This is the way to live- to have little ones pitter-pattering around taking it all in so I can too all over again.