Eight’s a Crowd?

When I took this picture of Daisy, I thought I was taking a picture of just Daisy. Just my little Daisy playing the piano.

I’m sure that somewhere in the back of my mind there was probably an awareness of the two other little people in this picture. I’m sure I must have noticed that they were pounding away at keys while Daisy tried to practice. But I didn’t notice in a . . . noticing sort of way. Later, when I loaded it on the computer, I thought, “Well, for heaven’s sake. Hello other two children”.

And then I thought how that is really the way things are around this house. Always. With an unfinished basement and our kids currently stacked THREE to a bedroom, there is just not much chance of any of us escaping one another.

Sometimes Abe might shout for a bit of quiet when trying to do his homework. And, I am sure Daisy has yelled for someone to come stop kids from ruining her piano practice in the past. Goldie has been known to come out of her room at night complaining that Penny and Daisy will not be quiet enough for her to say her prayers. But, I hope they don’t really mind it – this full house business. I hope that they don’t usually notice in a noticing sort of way (for some reason I feel like Pooh Bear when I say that), or, that when they do truly notice, they like it. Because I do. Sometimes it is loud, and sometimes I might point my finger towards the back door and demand they all take themselves out of it, or throw my hands up as I tell them all to go watch a show but more often, when I am noticing, I look around and think, “It doesn’t feel too crazy here. It feels happy. Are there really six kids running around? Surely someone is missing.” And I stop and count Anders pulling a toy car out of the pantry and Penny leaning over Abe’s shoulder watching him do his little electronic time on the DS at the couch, and Daisy and Goldie at the kitchen counter making some little creatures with beads and string, and Jesse on the living room floor taking apart the girls’ Easy Bake Oven. And I think, “Huh, I’ll be. That’s six alright.”

Perhaps growing up in my huge family has just desensitized me to crazy, but I quiet like this house full of people Mike and I have gone and gotten for ourselves.