A look at big families - from a kid's perspective

Lots of people in this town have big families, say 5 children. A few on our street don't. We've got our next door neighbors who have a teenage daughter and a six year old boy, both parents work and grandma babysits. And another little guy Luke's age who has one little sister and and mom and dad who work from home when they're in town and travel the rest, grandpa watches him those times. Both these cute boys like to swing by our place often to see if my kids can play. We invited them in a lot. But when I can't, my heart  goes out to them. 

Take this morning for instance: I'm in my pjs in the kitchen, I hear a knock at the door, then a ring, then another knock and I peek out to see its one of them. He's got his face pressed against our window. He hears the music coming from the backyard and bets we're home. I can't answer the door cause I'm not dressed, and I don't really want to because I don't like turning the little guy away.  But I know if I invite him in, things are going to change around here, for us. Jake and daddy are in the pool shooting hoops and playing with the rocket. Ashley and Luke are in the basement together playing ping-pong. Claire is content hanging with me, and I with her.  If I have a friend in, something's going to change (there goes Ashley off the ping-pong table). 

But as I watched our neighbor boy turn back to his scooter and head back down the driveway, I felt sorry for him. Day after day he's riding down the street looking for somebody to play with. His mom has told me before, "When I'm home working, I like it quiet. I tell him go on and get some exercise, look for friends to play with".  It's the way they roll. And so he heads to our house.

How different would it be if he had nice, big plump family complete with a brother of his own to pal around with? Shoot hoops with. Cruise the neighborhood with. I wish for him he did!

I see what big families have - lots of siblings for friends and moms who are busy enough with all the kids to call that their complete days' work - and I feel glad to be a kid who came from one and a mom who has one!

I've made my decision: Big families ROCK.