Friday, February 26, 2010

Five years


It's been five years this month since our family grew from three to six. Coming from a family of four, I never thought I'd want a family so big - and children so close together in age. (Callie always wanted a brood - the number "10" was bandied about before we got married, and I pretended not to hear it.)

When we got the kids, I heard from a lot of close friends who congratulated me but said we were crazy for taking on this kind of load, this kind of commitment. I was a nervous wreck when we told the kids' worker, a family friend, that we'd take them in. Here's what I knew was at stake:
  • Free time
  • Weekends
  • Money
  • Sanity

I lost them all, of course. Every parent does. But here is a little of what I gained:
  • A four-part chorus of laughter, several times a day.
  • Excited screams when I get home from work.
  • Birthday gift conspirators.
  • Old haunts rediscovered.
  • Waking up to four children existing in perfect harmony (most of the time).
  • Soccer games and concerts.
  • Existence of a just and benevolent God.
  • A chance to be young again, and for days at a time.

If I had known all the work I'd put into parenting these children, I might not have wanted to do it. And I would've missed out.

Michael Caine was in a movie a couple of years ago - The Weather Man - and said a line that blindsided me. I've tried to live my life by it ever since. Goes like this:

The hard thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing.

Exactly.

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