This Is What Big Families Are All About

Macie Cantrell

            There is nothing like coming home from school and seeing the candy you got for Halloween two days ago scattered all over your bedroom floor after one of your little sisters raided it. After you cool down and try not to freak out, you notice that the candy is all gone and only the wrappers remain.  Almost every day was like this when I still lived at home.  Even though there were bad and annoying times, I still learned a lot about myself and gained an infinite amount of wisdom by being the oldest of 5 kids.

            Patience. Even after all these years of being the oldest kid of 5, I still haven’t quite figured this one out. How can you be patient when you’re about to pee on yourself and there is only one bathroom? Or when you have to wait in line for dinner like in a freaking cafeteria? It was hard to wait on all of my siblings, through ball games, getting picked up for school. I’m not going to lie to you. There were times I wanted it to be all about me so I didn’t have to wait one anyone else.  But being part of a big family taught me to wait and be patient for other people besides myself.

Unselfishness. I can’t tell you how big of a deal this word was growing up.  There was no my room, your room it was every ones room. If you needed to study, well good luck because someone would come in without knocking every 5 min. One time I was changing and of course, my stupid brother walked in on me naked. So instead of freaking out and covering up I just stood there and said “Hello”. He always knocked from that point on. Everything that I owned, I never really owned because someone would always be borrowing it and of course loosing it.  Learning to live with a bunch of people taught me how to share not only my things, but my time and my life.

Responsibility. I learned how to cook and clean. I greatly aided in the raising of my younger siblings. I learned to do things that will always come in handy. Like, don’t put a rag in the microwave to heat up for your little sister’s leg cramps and forget about it. Don’t worry; it was only on fire for a few minutes. I learned how to deal with grumpy kids, poopy kids, snotty kids, mean kids, etc. There is a home video of me and my brother when I was 2 and my brother was just born. I wanted to change his diaper. When I opened it up he peed right in my face. To this day we watch that video and crack up.

I learned so much by living with so many people, but I think the most important thing I learned was to love and be loved. I learned it from my parents. My parents are the kind of parents that never missed a game, always gave us hugs and kisses, and told us constantly how wonderful we are. Since I am the oldest, I had the blessing of being able to instill the love they taught me into the lives of my younger siblings. I think that being a part of a big family showed me how to love unconditionally and that love has no price tag. There is always someone there to lend a hand, always someone to help you through or just to make you laugh. There is never a time when you feel alone or helpless. There was love all around me growing up

Side Note: I WANT TO HAVE A BIG FAMILY WITH LOTS OF KIDS!!!!!!