When David and I got married, we had plans to have a dozen children, literally. Over the last nearly thirty years together, we've made that goal. I didn't birth all of them as originally planned, and of those that we conceived, not all of them made it to live here on earth with us. Four are waiting for us in Heaven. We raised four other biological children and had other children pass through our home along the way. We're soon to have a nearly empty nest, with only our youngest daughter here with us after her big sister goes off to a university and her almost-Irish twin brother goes off with the Marines.
I was the oldest of four children. My mama had me, then my twin brothers, and then my little sister all in a span of two years and eleven months. During her last pregnancy, she babysat one of my cousins as my aunt had her son. That cousin had the chicken pox, so my mama (in her last trimester) had four itchy, scratchy, squally kids to take care of. My little sister never got chicken pox during her childhood like the rest of us. She waited until she was twenty-one years old and pregnant with her own baby girl.
My granny Evelyn Fowler Gunter (daddy's mama) was pregnant four times: my daddy, my aunt, and my Uncle Bobby Joe who died in Germany while stationed there with the US Army, and a little one that she lost due to a severe trauma to the abdomen.
My grandma Maggie Pressley Spence (mama's mama) had seven children, six of which made it to adulthood. She had two sons and all the rest were daughters.
One of my great-grandmothers, Annie Black Gunter (also known as Big Mama) had ten babies and raised six of them to adulthood. Another grandma, my second great-grandma, Philadelphia Isabella Evatt Pressley, topped us all. She gave birth to thirteen children! What an exciting household that must have been!
Who was the most prolific in your family? How many children did your parents have? Where are you in the birth order? If you have had children, how many? Do you have grandchildren?
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I love children.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise. I do, too. My two favorite groups of people have always been the elderly and little ones. I don't really have either in my life any more. An empty nest is in our way to near future.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a blessed Easter.
I like your K word-- gave me a moment to reminisce. Thinking back on past family members, the most prolific of mothers was my grandma on my father's side. She was from the old country. She birthed 9 children and 7 made it to adulthood. Most of my other family members have had 2 to 3 children throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteI was the oldest of three. I also have 3 children. My sister has 1 child and the other has no children-- however she has been like a mother to several children over the years.
I am the grandmother of 2 currently. I anticipate that number rising over the next few years. It is inspiring to think about the legacies we are a part of both behind us and ahead of us.
Mary from The View from my World
Which old country was your grandma from? Did you like being the oldest child? Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. How blessed you are to be a grandma! I think the grandma/grandchild relationship can be one of the most precious relationships. The sun rose and set for me in my grandma. Unfortunately, our children haven't been able to have such a relationship with their own grandparents. That saddens me.
DeleteI agree that it is inspiring to think of what we're a part of, behind and ahead of us. It took a lot of women (and men) before us to create us and from our marriage, so many will come after us. And to think that we'll live on forever through these future people, that is just awesome in my opinion. :)
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a blessed Easter!