My mom is one of eight (#5 in birth order) and it was crazy for a while, growing up. The first five kids were born in six years, before some nice ladies at church pulled my grandma aside in the early 1950s and explained family planning. I am not making that up. The next three were born three years apart. Wow...eight kids in 18 years. It must have been nutty. But they survived, and all the kids do well. No drugs, no divorces - it's pretty amazing. There is that one aunt who has distanced herself from the family...but isn't there always one? The point is, they all made it.
I think moms of big families just get into a groove and optimize what they have, making the best of it. Still today, at 87, my grandma drives across town for the better prices on milk or bananas, cooks for an army whenever she has guests over, and uses the entire chicken: sandwiches, soups, chicken stock...and ground bonemeal is put into the vegetable garden. And somehow she manages to send 55+ birthday cards a year (all of us offspring). They didn't have a lot, but they made it.
Certainly having a good income makes supporting a large family more possible. Oprah profiled a woman from St. Louis who has 9 kids, and looks great. She makes time to exercise, takes care of herself, looks fantastic, writes a book...where does she get all this free time? Oh, her husband runs a major land development firm. They're loaded. No doubt they have challenges in their own way, but still. They're making it just fine.
Like Amy, we're probably considered upper middle class (hey - my hubby's an engineer too!). I have a great job, we can afford what we need, we save, but it's not like we're awash in cash, back-stroking like Uncle Scrooge. And we'll support two kids well. Three kids? I love a crowd, and it's even tempting, but I'm not so sure we can provide as well as for two. And more than that? It's really hard to fathom.
After having my first, I wondered what I ever did with my time and money before him.
- What did I spend my money on? (Clothes and shoes, a lot of them.)
- How did I spend my time? (I really don't know. Now I actually multi-task.)
