Mom of Six

As you know from Art's post, he was in Boston last week. This means I was "home alone" with the kiddos. This was the first time since Seth was born - so needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed.

I have found that being a mom of six carries with it a certain stigma. For example, Levi goes to speech 3 times a week. I often wait for him while he's in class. I always have Seth with me and other moms often ask how many kids I have. I've been amazed at the responses when I say "he's my #6". Invariably, I get a "wow!" Then, I am introduced by these other moms (who really don't know me at all) to the new moms who come in with such things as: "she has 6 kids, she's amazing". I think to myself, "how does she know I'm amazing? She doesn't even know me?" Some women start peppering me with questions, as if I am the resident expert on child-rearing and child behavior. It's really kind of flattering, and a lot nicer than the rude comments I got when I was expecting #4 (a nurse in the ER actually referred to my kids as a "herd" and they weren't even there!) I guess if you have 3-4 you're considered nuts and if you have 6 you're considered worthy of admiration? Go figure!

I get a slightly different response from my fellow ward members. You know, most women in the church are busy with kids of their own. We all know how crazy motherhood is. But for me, it seems that now that I have six, the ward members feel like I really need help. We actually had meals brought in for about 2 weeks and some of the young women have come over to take the kids to the park or swimming so that I could have a break following Seth's birth. I even had women bring us dinner after the first 2 weeks, just because they wanted to. When people heard that Art was going out of town (I didn't keep it a secret that I was anticipating a crazy week when people asked) I had 2 dinners brought in and 2 days where kids were taken swimming and plenty of offers to call if I needed anything. I'm amazed. Maybe this is just a really compassionate ward, maybe I look as crazy as I sometimes feel (even though I thought that I was hiding it pretty well), or maybe the Lord is just watching out for me and my family.

Basically, I'm beginning to believe that there's something different about being a mom of six. I'm not sure exactly what is different about it, but I'm sure I'll find out. I'm the second of six and I always wanted to have six kids. When they're all around I feel like my family is complete. If one is missing, I can tell (and not just because it's quieter). Before Seth was born, I would count kids and mentally account for each one throughout the day and I would always finish and think "is that really everyone?" I don't do that anymore. When I get through my mental list of all the kids, I know I'm done and that's everyone. Six is right for me. It's definitely not right for everyone, but it's right for me.