Greetings!
I have never imagined my family comprising just 2 or 3 members鈥攏o, no, it doesn't seem right at all. Even when my parents gave birth to many younger ones after me, my family has never been small or scanty. There were always relatives in our house who lived with us as immediate family members.
Shockingly to you, my parents gave birth to 10 children鈥攖hat鈥檚 almost a football squad!馃槀 It鈥檚 always a big thing of joy and 'noise' whenever we are around because the bond is always strong, especially with the fact that our house is small, and everyone lives a very non-private life. Yes, that鈥檚 how it is.
It鈥檚 a family groomed in a very African way, where the ladies are known for kitchen duties while the guys handle the main farm work. When it comes to food, there鈥檚 this joy that comes whenever the males line up to banter about the food cooked by the females. I can鈥檛 talk about my family without mentioning that. The only person we didn鈥檛鈥攁nd still don鈥檛鈥攈ave the power to throw banter at is my mom. Interestingly, all of us boys know how to cook, so whenever the arguments became intense, we would excuse the girls and make our own food. Of course, there was always foodstuff at home because we farmed.
My family is a very fun one. Even when we were lamenting about the strenuous and excessive farm work, going to the farm in our numbers and working together had a way of making us forget how exhausting it was. You know, there鈥檚 a kind of fun that comes with working in the midst of people while laughing, gisting, and throwing shades. OMG! My family is a bunch of love.
Would I have preferred a smaller family?
To be very sincere, there were times when we felt bad because we didn鈥檛 have money to pay our school fees, and we would be flogged very badly in school. During those times, my parents would push hard to pay up, but because we were many, it usually took a longer time to get to my turn. I鈥檓 among the oldest, so the younger ones were considered first since they couldn鈥檛 bear or maneuver the flogging like we, the older ones, used to do.
Nevertheless, I would still pick my large family. Back then, our home/compound, due to how large we were, became a center of play for the street. Families with just one or two kids would leave their houses and come to ours. I can鈥檛 imagine having to go to other people鈥檚 houses to camp there.
What about me鈥攚ould I raise a large family?
My parents had us in excess, and I don鈥檛 plan to go to that extent, but I would really love to have a noisy house where my kids wouldn鈥檛 need to sneak out to play. Do you get it? I don鈥檛 have a specific number in mind, but it鈥檚 definitely not going to be just two children.馃槑
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to the Week 144, Edition 01 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community
Photos are mine.