The Case for Large Families
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 10:35 PM
Tonight we celebrated the birthday of my six-year-old nephew. Friends and family members converged at a local park for a few hours of fun, where we were all pleasantly surprised by the mild temps and gentle breezes. July in Georgia can be hot, and tonight wasn’t too bad at all.
I have mentioned I’m the oldest of eight children (the picture is my family at my bowling birthday party this past June), and my sister-in-law (the birthday boy’s mom) comes from a large family as well. Tonight as we gathered I marveled that most of the huge crowd were either her siblings or mine. There were other friends and neighbors thrown in the mix, but it was lots and lots of family.
At one point, as I was heading toward one of the boys, I noticed a large group of people standing together on the sidewalk. As I got closer I realized that every single person in that crowd was a member of my family. Four brothers, a sister-in-law, my mom, my dad, a few of my boys—put them all together and it’s a crew. And that was just a small slice of those gathered.
My point is not to boast about how I have all this family nearby. It’s a luxury, I realize, and I feel very blessed. But mostly, I come to encourage you. If you are on the fence about whether you should really have more than the 2.3 children the average American family produces, my advice is go for it. It is one of the best investments you can possibly make.
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