Paycheck Days

I have eight children: seven daughters and one son. My son is in the "fourth" position in the family. When I describe the effect raising such a large family has had on me, my answer is: My receding hairline was caused by the three older girls. The silvering temples is caused by the next two children. And the wrinkles around the eyes and the wholesale migration of hair from my head is caused by the youngest three girls. In response, people usually politely chuckle. It makes for a pleasant way to introduce, eight, in my very subjective opinion, very remarkable people whom I've had the opportunity to know and care for.

In reality, raising children is the toughest job around. There's no vacation. If you're fortunate you have a spouse to help you. (It's usually us vs. them and there are more of them!) No two children are the same. They all want things, different things no less, at the same time and they are eternally insistent. I've never met such strong willed people as my children. It is emotionally, physically and financially taxing to raise children. But...

There are days, when the paycheck comes for all your work. It's those moments of glory when your children show you that all your blood, sweat and tears are not in vain. I got one from my son yesterday. It was in a letter that showed by its contents that he's changed from the self-absorbed teen-ager that he was, into a mature young man. Those moments, rare though they are, make all the rest worth the effort.