People

It's always an adventure going anywhere with all 4 kids. No trip is ever the same, or goes the way it's planned. Sometimes things go surprisingly well and at other times things are horribly chaotic. Either way, people will say things to me or give me "looks" when they see me with the four kids. I get the smiles, the "she must be crazy to have that many kids so close together" looks, the scowls from store employees who would rather that I not be there with my 4 kids who will most likely get into something, and so on. Here are just a few of the usual comments that people make:

• "Wow, you must have your hands full!" Ya think?
• "Your kids are so well behaved." This is usually said by someone who sees them when we've only been in the store for a little bit but I generally do not get this comment from people after being in a store for a while. I generally reply with a simple "Thank you" as I know within minutes of someone telling me this one of the 4 is going to do something horrible.
• "Oh, I remember those days." If I'm having a rough time, I have to quell my urge to say, "Really? You remember what it was like to have 4 kids in 4 1/2 years?"
• "I bet you're done now." Code for: "You would be insane to have any more" or "Why on earth would even have as many as you have now." 
• "You are way to young to have kids!" I like this one as it makes me feel good about myself. :o)
• and on I could go...

It really used to bother me when people would comment on the number, age, etc. of my children. I know it's an oddity in our culture to have more than a couple of kids but it kind of made me feel like a freak show.

I'm rabbit trailing again...Ok, I'm back on track now.

During last week's shopping excursion I had 9 people (yes, I counted) comment on "how full my hands were" and only one person tell me, "I had one boy and three girls, too, and I loved it! The Lord bless you!". After all this I started thinking about my attitude toward these comments and truthfully toward my position (having 4 small kids so close together). I realized that the reason these comments bothered me so much was because (to a degree) I resented my position. It wasn't my plan to have 4 kids in 4 1/2 years (although, I did have someone ask me once why we planned it that way). We'd always thought 4 would be a good number but we'd planned to stretch them over 6-8 years instead of having them practically right on top of each other. But God had worked things differently and I wasn't happy with the way He'd done it. 

I have decided to work at changing my outlook on these comments. I can be a witness of God's grace through these little ones that God has given me. People look when they see our little entourage and I don't want them to see a mom who is annoyed with her little treasures. When someone makes a comment like...

• "Wow, you must have your hands full!" I am choosing to reply with something to the extend of "Yes, they keep me busy but they are truly a blessing and a joy most of the time."
• "How on earth do you manage?" I reply, "God's grace gets me through."