Lessons from the Lake
I could be the only mother of eight with whom this woman ever has a personal conversation, I thought to myself.
Posted by Danielle Bean
in Family
on Sunday, July 06, 2008 2:09 PM
“She has two out there on the raft,” I overheard a woman talking to her companions at the lake last evening. “And these three right here, plus the baby, and I’m not sure about that little guy on the slide over there ...”
Of course she was talking about me. And of course I hear this all the time.
When I heard her begin to count heads again, I turned toward her, smiled, and braced myself for the inevitable.
“Are all these kids yours?” she finally dared to ask. I nodded and forced my smile to grow a bit bigger.
I am used to this. Really, I am. I am so used to this, in fact, that I have moved beyond embarrassment and annoyance over the attention my family size garners me and straight into amusement. People have no idea how predictable they are. The “no ways”, the “oh mys”, the “I could nevers”. Totally predictable.
As I endured the inevitable inquisition last night at the lake, however, what occurred to me was how unpredictable I have an opportunity to be in these situations. People might expect me to moan and groan about the work and expense a large family requires. They might expect me to tell them “No way—No more!” when they ask if we’re going to have more children. They might expect me to do anything but smile.
I could be the only mother of eight with whom this woman ever has a personal conversation, I thought to myself as I stepped into my sandy sneakers, hooked the baby on my hip, and ushered my gang toward the van. How’s that for a burdensome responsibility? How to show that the yoke is easy and the burden is light?
“Eight kids,” my new friend repeated, shaking her head at me in disbelief.
“Yup, eight is great!” I grinned back as I counted heads myself and the baby on my hip gave her wee wave goodbye.
“I guess so,” I heard her say as I made my way toward the van. “I guess it might be.”
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