Posted on 04/07/2008 1:01:59 PM PDT by Alouette
Well put. Sacrifice is what nobody wants to do.
I must disagree, to a point...BTW, I don't have to worry about retiring. My kids are 21, 19, ... and 6. When the kindergartener graduates from college, I'll be 70.
The past six years of HS wasn't that easy...drill team for my daughter (2 years), and all that implies: lessons, uniforms, travel, etc. Four years of band, including trips to Ireland, Washington, DC, lessons, instrument, other competitions within TX.
And, this year, while the first-time parents were sobbing over their kids' first day at school, I was crying tears of joy as my days of $800/month day care bills were over.
I'm not complaining, though. In retrospect, we would have liked to done a few things differently, but that's life...it's never boring, that's for sure! LOL!
My dear Alouette, I am delighted to see that you did not use “Vicious babushka” in your tagline. Good — that always bothered me.
If I may make a suggestion, I think your tagline should be “Super Showoff.”
Nine kids -— it’s always a gift to the world to propagate good genes. :o)
......And who buys their kids 70 new toys a year?.....
My grandson is 1.5 . He easily exceeded 70 toys per year. At his first birthday, he posessed more toys than I owned in my whole childhood.
While parents bought some, the combination of grandparents, doting childless aunts and assorted others provided the bounty.
Leggos and blocks are not counted as individual pieces but as 1 leggo set and two sets of blocks.
My niece gave birth a little over a week ago to triplets. Spontaneous triplets meaning no in-vitro or fertility drugs involved - just did it the old fashioned way. And the three baby girls might be identical triplets to boot. That and she and her husband have an 11 moth old girl!
I don’t think she was trying to be a super showoff but I’m pretty sure she and her husband are going to be super sleep deprived for some years to come.
Then you get a break until they're teenagers (especially drivers) and beyond. College can be very expensive these days without scholarships. (I believe this is included in the study)
20 grandkids? Congratulations! My in-laws are very proud of their 10 grandkids (we have 4 of those). They are constantly doing birthdays or phone calls or cards. I don’t know how they keep track of everyone. My MIL writes everyone’s Bday, anniversary, etc., on one big calendar. That doesn’t even cover their own personal special days or their friends. I am in awe of that.
I don’t know what my kids would do without Gma and Gpa. The relationship they share is sooo special.
Congratulations again!
Was that quote from Ted Turner?
My mother came from a family of six, with two bedrooms. This is how they worked it: boys in living room (sofas and bedding-on-the-floor), girls in one bedroom, Mama and Papa and the baby in the other.
The boys learned to clear their stuff off the living room floor every morning, too. When they got bigger, they took over the attic.
Worked for them!
It's not how MANY kids, it's who's having them....
Sometimes the baby is your only consolation :-). I still have days like that!
I am in the middle of prom dress / first junker car / class ring zone. It is a killer!
I’ve got two there right now. I can sympathize. I love it. I love the challenge of it, the energy and the kids!
I throw myself into it now and when I’m done, I’m done!
It isn’t hard to see how people can spend a fortune. Baby stores are full of $250.00 bedding sets and $2500.00 bassinets.
Add to that $50.00 baby outfits...
People dress their babies for their own pleasure, not because babies care as long as they are warm and dry.
Babies don’t need haute couture, but some parents do.
Independent -
this is what the left HATES.
They want dependent little hive members that don’t question the queen bee elites.
That happens sometimes too. My first two were both surprises. The last two were planned out.
Actually, many parents never consider their kids a "sacrifice" but a plus in their lives.
I'm an artist, but never pursued 'fame and fortune' - preferring to raise my kids sans day-care.
They now raise their kids the same way...the legacy we pass down.
People often ask me "Why didn't you pursue your career?"
I say, sweeping my arm around the room at all the family photos: "But I did. And look how successful it was."
Most haven't a clue what I mean.
have either not been born or have been aborted...
In historical standards, there have been several people who were significantly smarter than Einstein (John Stuart Mill, Goethe, Da Vinci), but it's probably safe to say that Einstein was in the top on half of one percent.
It's difficult to calculate how many babies have not been conceived, but abortion is a different matter. There have been approximately 50 MILLION abortions in the last 35 years, and one half of one percent comes out to 250,000 geniuses on Einstein's level have not been born in the United States.
I can’t help but wonder why anyone tells anyone else that they are “thinking about having another child.” Why would that be anyone’s business outside of your immediate family?
I don't know who it was as it was from the comments section. Whoever it was was pretty sad.
I used to do a bit of breastfeeding counciling to young mothers, mostly those with their first child. It was fun to hear them spout the over-population spiel they'd learned in college, then go ahead and have 2 or 3 more babies.
Why ? Because God made babies wonderful, that's why. On Purpose !
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