More is More

More paint brushes for art with our darling neighbors.

I adore children. Had I never met, married and mated, there would have been children in my life-that I can promise you. I would have worked in an orphanage. As fortune would have it, I did meet, marry and mate. If I had my way there would be more little people in my household-a lot more. But for today there are 4. 


About a year ago when the littlest was long passed the toddler stage, I looked wistfully to my Mister and said, "I want another." He rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of my face as if to waken me from a dreaming stupor. He could've reminded me that I cried throughout my entire 4th pregnancy because our last was supposed to be our 3rd (surprise!). He could've reminisced of all the nights when sleep alluded us. He could've played back the voice recording of me crying,"Can I please have a flippin' minute to myself, please?!" He could've cited the many times I greeted him at the end of the day by handing him a baby and walking out the door. But he didn't. He very lovingly said, "You know, I think 4 is a lot. How about we really love the ones we have?" O, what a guy. But being the Girl Friday that I am that little nugget of sweetness lasted about as long as a cheap piece of bubble gum. Then I was back to my parlor tricks. "What about foster care?" "What about adoption?" "Wonder if that young girl would want to give me her baby?" I painstakingly explored many ways to have my cake and eat it too-a baby, sooner rather than later. Hey, I am no spring chicken and with 4 C-sections under my belt (literally and figuratively) the idea of a 5th biological baby was not possible. 


And then it came to me-an epiphany if you will. Only having 4 means there is always room at the table for more-like more friends over to play, more food for an extra mouth to feed, more time to encourage the younger women in my life as they stumble through the early stages of motherhood, more energy to invite an extra child to the park, more patience to hold a crying baby in the nursery at church, more seats in the car for a couple extra playmates to take on an adventure, and more love to give back to my own little boys who really do need me-not to mention the Mister. And so I guess I really don't have to stop at 4. The possibilities are endless. There is always room at our table for more. xo

More energy to enjoy.