Families
So my family’s reaction was basically — He wants a big family? He’s an only child? He has NO idea what he’s in for! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
And I thought: Yeah, but I do.
To an excruciating degree.
Did I mention I’m the tenth of ten?
The great thing about having three or more kids is that it’s basically an ecosystem. The older ones take care of the younger ones. That’s why the two-and-through thing has never made sense to me.
It’s important, when planning your family, to have hope and walk into the future with forgiveness.
Kids with siblings learn things like generosity, sharing, caring, responsibility…
My siblings are an extremely complicated ecosystem of extremely caring people who think they know what everyone else needs all the time and will never stop trying to protect the younger ones and never shut up…
I definitely remember an email chain last year that was started by an older Catholic male re: keeping Mom safe or something and felt like emotional blackmail toward me personally and ended with me and verbal fists flying (I do have an annoying tendency to argue from the text) and my dad coming down on everyone’s heads with something like Leave Genevieve to her life choices because sometimes you just need a good father, a good pope, to stop the controversy and call everyone to forgiveness and love and peace.
I’ve always had angst about respective intelligence, wisdom, life experience, and pent-up aggression from about twenty years of lost board games. Because I was the baby so I was ALWAYS losing, losing, losing.
And I have a fatal desire to outdo them in life…
Anyway, then, over Christmas break, I realized…
Wait.
They are always dumping books on my head. And life advice. And talking, talking, talking.
Did I mention the obnoxious tendency of Catholic males to never shut up? And going, going, going? And getting in your face?
So, maybe, since I’m always stuck listening (it’s one of my spiritual gifts), and watching everyone over the holidays, and I had a phenomenal education in loving people, maybe I’m the wisest of them all…
And when I maintain inner calm (which I now do), and remember I’m strategic and analytical as hell…
And they drink and get psyched out by my degree in words and get distracted by their children…
I can wipe the flipping floor with them at any old game.
So then, after the holidays and everyone left, I sighed happily and thought: Great! Back to our regularly-scheduled program of infrequent contact!
I will love everyone around me.
I will build the business God has put in front of me.
I will pour into their children.
And assume they are going about loving people in the best way they know how as well, as good Christians. And ignore any and all of their life choices and criticisms!
