The question reads: I don’t know how you survive as a homeschooling mom with 5 children under the age of 7! How do you ever get out? How do you give everyone enough attention? How can you keep your house clean or attend to your husband? I only have one and am completely overwhelmed. Seriously—just how do you do it?
I chuckle as I read this question because I promise you that if you saw my house with books stacked high in places that are NOT the bookshelf—that would answer at least part of your question. I almost didn’t respond to this question in a blog but I’ve now been asked so many times—particularly in public—that I’ve just decided to write about it. Maybe the next time someone stops me to oogle over the twins and asks me how I do it. . .I can point them to this blog!
It Gets Easier
First of all, for the sake of those who are reading this who actually know me in real life. . .my oldest daughter just turned 8 last month. So now I have 5 under the age of 8 and that’s not nearly as scary as two years ago when I had 5 under the age of 6. But this brings me to an important point: it gets easier. There will always be challenges in parenting but they change and somehow getting at least 6 hours of sleep a night now makes a big difference. (I am still not completely coherent but am well on my way to sanity!)
I Relish Newborn-hood
I am of the persuasion that your attitude has just about everything to do with how your life is going. If you think it stinks that you can only get two hours of sleep because junior is up all night wanting to nurse then it does. Me personally, I prefer to look at it as one short period of time in their lives where I am blessed to share many, many waking moments communicating just how much I love them. Don’t get me wrong—I get tired and exhausted—but I just refuse to see it as a horrible thing.
You Cannot Put Them Back
It used to make me laugh when I would be walking around somewhere with a very big twin belly and three little ones beside me. People would find I was expecting twins and say, “What are you going to do?” It was as if there was something to do to ‘fix’ the situation. I am of the mindset that my family doesn’t need fixing. I can’t take them back where they came from so I might as well figure out how it’s going to work. This includes how much attention they’ll each get individually, to how I’ll homeschool them, to how I’ll attend countless recitals and gymnastics meets, to how we’ll get dinner on the table. We will simply because we have to.
My Support
I have saved this point for last but it really could go at the top in terms of importance. Anyone who knows my husband would agree with this statement: my husband is awesome. We agreed together to have a big family, to homeschool, to live in the inner city and to live happily ever after. It’s not that it hasn’t been hard at times—it’s just that we agree to work together. If dinner is not done when he comes home, he doesn’t ask where it is. . .he asks what he can do to help or if he should go ahead and cook. He takes the kids (yes, all five) grocery shopping all by himself when needed. And whenever someone stops him and says, “How did your wife get you to do this?” He replies, “Oh my wife as a much harder job than I do.”
But to disabuse you of any supermom notions let me just say. . .don’t come over without calling first or you’ll be likely to find all manner of messiness!