Are All Of These Yours?

I have a friend who has three of the most beautiful children on the face of the Earth. They were dream children who were always clean and perfect and who always behaved like little angels whenever they were out in public. Every time I went somewhere with her and her entourage, I would compliment her, as would others. Occasionally we would talk about my future plans for having children and she would always tell me, "make sure you have them one after the other...have them close together so they can grow up together and then you'll be done with everything at the same time." I saw how well she held everything together and I thought, "Wow! that must be the way to go." So naturally when my husband and I started our own family, we took her advice. First we had a Josh. 22 months later, we had a Jake. We decided that was all that we could handle, but God had other plans and then along came our third, Emily. After our third child, we decided that we needed to take better control of the situation before we start to overpopulate the world with our beautiful little babies.I never imagined that having 3 children would ever be considered as "a lot of kids." Brian's great grandmother had 12 children for crying out loud! Now that's a lot of kids running around.

However, in today's society, it seems that any number more than 1 is "a lot." So I suppose I have a lot of kids. Regardless, it sure feels like I have a lot of kids. Of course, I am reminded of this quite frequently when we all go out in public and people say silly things like, "Are all of these yours?" I find that question quite intriguing. As if I am a circus sideshow freak, and the fact that I have 3 small children is the most fascinating thing they have seen in a long, long time. I mean, C'mon people, pick up a newspaper or something. Sometimes I feel like answering, "Well, this one is mine, but...hey! where did these other two come from ??? Brian, Dude! Have you been snatching kids off the street again???" Sheesh!

Well, my answer the other day, as two of my little monkeys were racing all around and Emily was playing on the floor, was "Yes, they are all mine. Aren't they cute?" The inquisitive mommy of 2 very young children was quite surprised and she replied with, "Oh, my husband and I were thinking of having another" (to make 3...LOL). I told her something magical happens once you have more than 2, and that she should have them all close together; I mean she was already on a roll, why stop now, right? I have officially passed the torch.

Over the years I lost touch with this particular friend of mine (chances are she is in a mental institute somewhere). I would love to track her down and give her a piece of my mind...what's left of it by now, of course. How dare she go parading around the country with her 3 beautiful children, all less than 2 years apart from the other, and falsely advertise to the rest of us that being a mom is so easy. Not to mention the fact that she looked great too! Most days I can barely manage to get my make-up applied and my hair fixed just right. What mom actually has the time for this?

Being a mom, a good mom that is, takes a lot of work. Motherhood is the most difficult task I have ever attempted in my life. College was a breeze compared to raising 3 children. There may be days when I whine and complain and even need a shoulder to cry on, but in the end I will always answer "yes, these are all mine."