We went on a bike ride yesterday with 10 kids. Our three youngest were actually away for the weekend, but we effortlessly managed to acquire six more, (no one remembers actually inviting them; they just appeared) and headed off the Wade's Place for ice cream - about 8 miles one way. We had 23 wheels total: 10 of us on our own bikes, a five year old in a trailer and a six year old on the "tag-along" attached to an adult bike. The teenage boys took turns pulling the trailer up the hills, switching off a couple times on the ride, and my husband took the tag-along on the way there, and one of the boys on the way back. It was our first ride of the season and it was GREAT!
Then today our Memorial Day get-together with one other family turned into a cook-out for 37. How did that happen?
I'm still wondering how I ended up with this life. I don't like crowds; I prefer one-on-one. I'm not a party person at all, yet I live in continual party. I need large doses of solitude and quiet to feel sane, but both are rare in the life I lead.
But I love my life. I love my children. I love the chaos they create. I love the enormous variety expressed in their personalities. I love seeing them live out the many-colored grace of God right in front of me - close enough so I can touch it. I love feeling like the hub of a merry-go-round though riding one can make me feel dizzy.
So I do know what people are thinking when they say, "I could never deal with that many kids." I would think exactly the same thing if I were watching my own life. I would be so intimidated and overwhelmed I would feel faint. But being on the inside is SO different than watching from the outside. Doing the thing is so much easier, and so much better than thinking about it.
I don't know how I ended up here, but I'm sure glad I did.
No comments:
Post a Comment