While I’d like to start off by saying something deep and impressive like “I always knew I wanted to have a big family because…”, I really can’t. You see, I never really intended to have six children, but neither did I want to have a small family. I just knew that I wanted to have children and that was that.
I had my first child and it was a wonderful experience. I knew I wanted more. There was no plan that had been developed and set in stone for a future family and it had never even come up for discussion. Me and my husband just took things one day at a time and lived our lives that way. I know that most couples sit down and discuss future goals together, but I had met my match and we both took things as they came and dealt with them on the spot.
I always felt that more children would be welcomed into the family when I was younger and didn’t do much to try to stop the pregnancies. There was some measure of birth control, but it was haphazard at best. What would come would be loved and welcomed.
Me and my husband were living in a two-bedroom apartment and having the first girl was wonderful. When the second and third children appeared, two boys, we were waiting for our townhouse to be built and had to put up the three children in one room. We had one set of bunk beds for the two oldest and a crib for the baby. There wasn’t much room in that bedroom at the time, but there sure was a lot of love, fun and frivolity.
By the time the fourth in the fifth, two girls, arrived on the scene, we were well established in our townhome and had two sets of twin bunkbeds set up. Clothes were passed down from the oldest to the youngest and friends in the neighborhood donated clothes that their children had outgrown as well. It wasn’t uncommon to go out for groceries in the afternoon and come home to 2 garbage bags full of clothing set out on the front porch. Sometimes we never found out where they had come from, but they were very appreciated.
When the sixth child arrived I had a feeling that I had never experienced before. I felt full. I was satisfied. There was an inner peace that I simply cannot describe deep down in my soul. I knew that my baby days were over and that I was done.
I never regretted for one day having a big family. While somehow I went from cooking for two people to cooking for eight at every meal, I somehow lived to tell the tale. Looking back, now that I only have two older children left in the home, I don’t know how I ever did it. It seems surreal to me now to house six children and two adults in a small four-bedroom townhouse, but we did it with bunk beds. It seems unreal to think about all the meals prepared, the clothing provided and the other basics and luxuries that we were able to give to our children.
Would I do it again? Would I have a big family if I was starting over? You bet! The biggest thing that I was able to provide for my children during all these years was the company of siblings and the ability to grow up in a home that was always filled with love.