June 23, 2025

There’s a meme online that goes like this “1 kid is 1 kid. 2 kids are 5 kids. 3 kids are 9473837 kids, 8 hurricanes, & a donkey.”

We have 4 kids and many of our friends have 3 kids or more. The quote is truly relatable.

But on most days, give me someone else’s kids (who know me) to add to my crew, Please, especially during the summer or during any extended break from school. If the children are potty-trained and for the most part eat independently, I’m not doing you a favor, you are doing ME a favor by placing them with my kids and keeping them from fighting with each other. It doesn’t stop the fighting completely, and some of our friends’ kids are also second cousins and/or very familiar to us and so our kids will sometimes argue with them too. But for the most part, someone else’s 1 kid means 1 or more of my kids are happier. Someone else’s 2 kids make 5 kids feel like 2 kids. And someone else’s 3 or more kids bring the very Best kind of party, especially when everyone has a buddy close in age or with similar interests or both!!

I’ve spent lots of time and energy in the last couple of weeks trying to get friends over with my kids. It’s another job I take on. I also sign them up for the camps I can afford and we organize opportunities for them to connect with other kids, but during these long days with all 4 of them and trying to work part time while managing all things related to my parents’ medical care and most things in the home, I quickly realize that I need to just factor into my day time to drive around and pick up everyone’s kids (with their parents’ permission!). And we booked two weeks away for our family of 6 in July this year….wonder how many kids it will feel like we have then!