Mari, I watch my SILs and my friends with their babies, and even ONE child can cause the hauling of a stupendous amount of “stuff”. The first year I lived here, Bro #2 came with wife and child, who was two at the time, and her “stuff” gradually spread like a fungus throughout the house. In fact, after they left, I kept finding “stuff” and eventually packed it all up and shipped it to them.

We would have a few minor squabbles if it was just my mother around, because she was a little bit tolerant, (although we were made to follow many rules – otherwise it would’ve just been constant chaos). My dad, on the other hand, was not tolerant at all. We all learned to behave exceptionally well (also known as being very quiet) when he was around.

My mother was a remarkable woman. Somewhere along the line, she put each child ‘in charge’ of the next child down the line. For me, this meant that I was ‘in charge’ of my brother who was two years younger. If he couldn’t find his boots, I had to help him. If I couldn’t find my boots, my sister, 2 years older than me, had to help me.

As a result of growing up in a large family – all of my siblings have very small families. I only have 1 son – who is now in his mid-twenties. I love him dearly, but I am so glad that he is fully grown now and there is just me again.

PS: Don’t tell the cat, but when she “crosses the rainbow bridge” I’ll be doing some extensive solo and carefree travelling. :p