The Variety of Life
Aug 16 '00
I have 5 children, plus the two who were killed in the house fire several years ago. I love each and every one of them. They all have their individual qualities, and their imperfections.
My oldest son is the brains of the family. He knows everything there is to know about everything. If not, he knows right where to find the answer and will have it for you in no time at all. He can do wonders with a computer. In fact, if it wasn't for him I would have probably never learned to use one myself. He is stubborn though. He gets this from both sides. Maybe that is why he is quite so stubborn.
My daughter has a mind of her own. Don't try to tell her what to do or how to do it because her mind is already made up. She could always be quite the challenge. She always needed a bit more attention than her older brother, but also needed her space more than he did. She can be a real perfectionist, but that often led to problems because if what she was doing wasn't coming out perfect, she abandoned it and started something else instead. She dropped out of high school in the 11th grade but I'm proud to say that she is now completing her education through a correspondence school.
My next son can be the best kid or the worst kid from one minute to the next. He can be quite a handful. He suffers from clinical depression which causes violent outbursts from time to time. He is doing much better now that we determined the cause of these outbursts and is now on medications to control them. The outbursts remind me a lot of his father's abusive behavior, and according to the psychologist I took my son to for evaluation, his father probably also has the same depression problems my son has.
Next is son that was killed in the fire. He always had the devil in his eyes. He was always up to something, and always having fun with whatever he was doing. He loved the water most of all. He would spend his whole day in the bathtub if we would let him. He loved climbing and acting like a monkey. I was always concerned that he would injure himself severely because of his climbing around. He fell on the stairs one night and had to be taken to the emergency room for stitches. He had climbed over the gate!
My daughter also was killed in the fire. She was not quite a year old but loved to play with her brothers and sister. They all adored her and so did I. She had a lot of stomach problems from the beginning. The doctors called it colic. One doctor gave be drops to give her for gas. I started out breastfeeding her, then switched to one formula after the other in hopes of finding something that would not upset her stomach. I spent many nights walking the floor with her because that seemed the only way to keep her content at times.
My next son is the shy one. He is becoming more outgoing lately though. He is also a dreamer and often seems to be off in his own world. His teacher last year was concerned that perhaps there was a problem. He was referred to our doctor to be tested for seizures or some similar problem, but nothing was found. He had an awful case of excema as a baby, but has long since outgrown it. He got Chicken Pox so bad for his first birthday that he had to be covered from head to toe with Calamine lotion. What a birthday present!
Last, but not least is my youngest son. I call him my "wild child" because he is so hyper all of the time. He practically bounces off the walls more often than not. He is not currently on any medications but probably will need to be before long. Although he has not been officially diagnosed with ADHD, buy our doctor has referred to a psychiatrist for further evaluation and diagnosis. He says he is not familiar enough with these disorders to feel comfortable making the diagnosis, but feels that my son has probably got ADHD along with some other form of a behavioral disorder. He may possibly have the same depression that his older brother has as well.
There is nothing wrong with having a large family. I have lots of love to go around. I do have a hard time supporting my family without help, but I did not know at the time that I would be raising them by myself with no support (physical or financial) from their fathers.
The oldest two are are half brother and half sister to the others, but are all treated equally. Neither father pays his support on time (if at all), nor seems terribly concerned about his children. I guess that is their loss.
I have been off work now since last October due to a work injury. I've loved spending this time with my family, though this was not how I had hoped it would happen. For my children, I am trying to find a way to generate enough income from home that I will not have to return to working outside of my home.
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Epinions.com ID:
kelly60
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Member: Kelly
Location: Northern Michigan, USA
Reviews written: 364
Trusted by: 248 members
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