After I made sure the diaper bag was stocked, sippy cups were filled, and shoes and coats were on, I strapped and buckled each child in their seats and we made the 20 minute trip to town. Once there, I unbuckled each child, grabbed a cart, settled my 18 week old in the carrier against my chest and we walked into the store. I noticed plenty people staring at this semi-young woman toting three very small children into a building chocked full of food, toys, and candy where disasters were very, very possible, and I felt like a circus show.
Even more recently I endured a very offensive verbal confrontation in the store which left me rattled for hours. In the spirit of pure selfishness, I was approached by a complete stranger who stared at my kids and then said that one child is bad enough; that by having SO MANY (it's only three, y'all...hardly worthy of the Guinness Book of Records), I'm one to be pitied. How thankful I am that my little ones are too small to understand the complete lack of value our world has for their precious lives!
It's funny when I think about it. Years ago, it was completely normal for women to have five, ten, even fifteen children! And yet, here we are in a society that gawks in disgust when a young woman has three small children. More often than not, they are treated like an annoying disruption to the norm. Pro-choice seems to be only for the ones who want to kill their babies, not for those who want them.
I've blogged about the pill. I've blogged about the blessing of children and how much I love being a mom. Of course, it's exhausting. Of course, there is precious little time for many hobbies that I enjoy. Yes, there are moments when I want to pull my hair out and moments when I would love to just walk out the door without having to fill a diaper bag, load up three crazy kids, and make sure seat belts are tight, a stroller is in the back, and I have extra baby wipes should a crisis occur. But those things pale in comparison to the joy my kids bring. My little boy told me last week that I was "the good-est mom he's ever seen!" My two year old little girl regularly asks me to hold her and randomly gives me the sweetest hugs and kisses. She joins me in the bathroom each morning and brushes my hair while I'm getting ready. My baby girl greets me every single morning with the most precious baby grin and happily falls asleep in my arms every night after a feeding.
To all the nay-sayers, these little miracles with peanut butter smudged on their faces and dirt under their finger nails are eternity with skin on. They're little souls whom God has designed and each of them have a special calling upon their lives. I don't have too many kids. I have exactly what I'm meant to have; exactly what the Creator Himself has given to my husband and me. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
