Lost in TV Land

I've mentioned before that I am addicted to weight loss and plastic surgery shows on the Discovery Channels and TLC. I have recently added a new obsession to that list.

Last evening I watched a show about a family with thirteen children. Now, six were from her first marriage and her second marriage had three sets of twins and a singleton. All thirteen lived under that roof at the same time (well, when the preemies came home from the hospital). I also make a point to watch the shows about the Duggers, the uber-religious family who just welcomed their sixteenth child to the clan in about eighteen years.

Most people I talk to are disgusted, shocked or confused as to why anyone in their right mind would have so many children. To me, it is the norm. I grew up in Irish-Catholic world, where having ten to twelve children was NOTHING compared to the K family that we knew very well. The K's had fifteen children by the end of her child birthing career and everyone in my teeny family of seven children had a K that was the same age. Sometimes two K's the same age. We went on vacations together (including camping at Fort Wilderness in Disney World! We took up two spots, they took up four!), went on Catholic Family retreats and even walked part of the way to school with some of them.

They have mostly all married at this point. Two have died (one at birth, the other was murdered) and a few more have had multiple medical issues. The youngest two are finishing college. The ones that are married (and one who isn't married) have all had children. One daughter has eight herself. The one that was my closest friend (and still is) has five. She lives in Saint Louis but when we talk it is like High School all over again.

I love watching shows about families because it warms my heart. I know it is reality tv, yadda, yadda, yadda. There is something about seeing other families go through what we've been through that brings back memories. I mean, our family was SMALL in comparison but we still had similar issues (whopping food bills, trips to Salvation Army and Goodwill for clothing, one thing for Christmas). It made me who I am today and I am proud of that. My parents struggled and wish they could have done better but I am here to tell you that I would not change a thing. Except that time when they made me share a car with J, he totalled it, let his friend drive my sister's car and he got in a fender bender, and then when my parents bought us a junker I refused to share it with him and took public trans for two years because I did not want him on my insurance policy. Nah, wouldn't change that either.

And, in case you are wondering, I WOULD have a very large family, if not for the whole placenta-abruptia-bleeding-to-death-thingy.