What Growing Up In A Large Family Teaches You

It's not easy being from a large family for many reasons. A few of those reasons are that 1) you don't have a lot of money, in fact we had very little money 2) you don't get a lot of attention and you seem to have to try to get it 3) it can be a stressful environment because your parents can be stressed with working hard and dealing with all the kids 4) there can be a lot of fighting going on with all the kids and 5) I was picked on a lot cause I was the smallest.

But there was also a lot of good things like 1) we were close 2) we learned discipline 3) we worked hard and weren't spoiled 4) we did have a lot of fun and get into a lot of mischief too. 5) we learned how to be creative to have fun.

I had a paper route and sold newspapers since I was ten. I learned how to count money and be responsible. By the age of 14 I was buying my own clothes. I bought my first car at age 25. I had my first place to live at age 20 and my first apartment at 21.

I have 4 older sisters and 5 older brothers. I think that being from large family and the way we were brought up taught us humility. We had to share things and we were not snobby. We always were taught to help out others and offer help to our neighbor or if someone needed it like if someone needed their car jumped. I think it's sad today how society has drifted away from that and how people don't help others much anymore.

When my dad got sick all ten of us kids took turns helping him and I helped him for the last three years of his life. It was wonderful to be able to spend that precious time helping him out before he passed and he became a Christian seven months prior to passing. After he became a Christian he stopped all his yelling and was much more peaceful so there was an evident change!

My mom really wanted only six children but she said she had each of her children for the Lord. She had one miscarriage and one child, her second, was born but died not long after from pneumonia. So that was hard on her. She said she cried for a few years after.

My father's brother's each had large families, the ones who married. One had seven, one had nine, and so my dad beat them both by having ten. I think people were worried I might be born with downs syndrome since my mom was 42 when she had me but she decided to anyway. I'm glad she did. Thank God. I was a "change of life" baby.

My older sister Joan told me when she saw me come home from the hospital she was so excited. She was 11 years older. She said I was so cute and was just so excited that my mom had another baby and couldn't believe how cute I was. She said my older brother Bill who was 4 years older carried me around like a doll. I always felt special like a teddy bear and loved. I felt like I had a lot of love to give.

My childhood by no means was perfect. There were a lot of difficulties but I remember a lot of fun times I had playing with my siblings and going to the beach and carnival!