A few months back, friends said to my husband when he arrived to visit on his own "oh, you're by yourself, thank goodness. We were going to suggest Tim Hortons if you had the whole family!" (here I will add, they had invited us for a visit, we didn't initiate it)
Another person recently said to me "your kids are crazy". (I will add, she followed this comment with...every family with 4 kids is crazy!)
Both of these comments have bothered me for months.
The thing is, after much thought and speaking to others, it seems that people assume because you have 4 kids life is just chaos. The thought of 4 children is overwhelming to them, so they let the imagination of what they assume my life is, overtake the reality of the situation.
My children are not 'bad' kids. They are not unruly or out of control. Sure they have their moments, all kids do, but our reality is not a scene from ...insert name of crazy movie family here.
My kids are generally well behaved. I am constantly impressed with how they handle themselves, even when there are other kids around who don't have the same expectations as we have in this family. David and I have been complimented many times on how pleasant and well behaved our children are. Despite this, everytime a hear a comment such as the above, it is a stinging blow.
I am sad that so many people are missing the opportunity to spend time with and get to know our fantastic children because of their notion that by way of us having a large family it has changed their genetics and disposition to make them, and us certifiably crazy. But, it is their loss!
We chose to have a large family, and we love it!
There is never a dull moment! We are never lonely, always busy, and our house is full of Love!
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