How many children? Does it matter? One quiet moment.

It’s one of those rare moments: the boys are out of the house for a play date, and Abraham just went down for his afternoon nap. I have – give or take – 45 minutes just all to myself! It’s so rare, and so sudden, that of course I don’t know what to do with myself. I have Courtney’s work to edit, I have a couple of articles to write for the Oasis, the carpet needs swept, there’s laundry, a complete mess in the hall way, and I could start dinner early, but I feel like I should be doing something special. I also need a shower, but what if Abraham wakes up early for some odd reason? No, that wouldn’t work. It’s all quiet, and just me, but what can I do?

Along with choosing to spend my time in the world of creative writing, I decide to call my friends and have a Baraka Sparkling Water. As it turns out though, my friend in Massachusetts who’s 15 weeks pregnant with her 4th child is busy celebrating her 2nd child’s birthday. My friend in Edmonton is not online, and probably still busy repairing the damage after discovering her 2nd-grader came home from school with lice on Friday night!

Two friends here in Cairo just had their second child. It’s a funny thing when that happens, because it really changes your life: you have kidS. (Plural!) A lot of people think having a baby is life-changing, but I say having your second child is the biggest step of them all. You can bring one child with you, and with 2-1 favor parents, you’re always going to stay on top of it, but once there’s more than one child in the equation, you’re going to come out on the loosing – or winning, depending on how you feel about it – side. After the two, I don’t think it really matters. You might have to consider your economic standings – a bigger car, but other than that, two children, four children, six; your life does not change as dramatically as it did when you surrendered to being a family of more than three. You might want to ask me again after number four or more, who knows, but as far as my experience goes, this is it: it was a much bigger step to have a second one than a third one. This is not to say that my friend in Massachusetts doesn’t have something to look forward to – oh, she does, I’m sure! – but the point is, rather, that once your family count goes past the three mark, there’s a lot more action! Lice, play dates, more laundry & dishes, more birthdays, etc. etc.; it all adds up!