I am not who you think I am.
Rather, from wherever you are,
You have written me another being
And breathed another's spirit with your lips......

The image of your own conceiving
Is the woman that you praise,
And being yours, she wells deserves
Your very own applause.

Juana Ines De La Cruz


Interestingly, this wasn't written by an angst filled generation-x'er, but a lady that was born in 1648.
It instantly spoke to me. Not that I am so esoteric that people *have* me pegged wrong, but there is something about having a lot of kids that makes the general public have certain preconceived notions of what a mother of said family should be/look like. At least that is what I gather from many conversations I have had with perfect strangers about the subject.

#1 Always quite surprised by my appearance. I am not exactly svelte, but apparently when you have a lot of kids you should be at least 200lbs overweight.
I think there is also some wonder that I am standing upright and not in a wheelchair or using a walking stick. That I am not totally prematurely gray ( I do have *some* gray hair being 43, but I keep that fact underwraps :) That I don't dress like one of those FLDS ladies that are currently being flashed on the news every hour on the hour.

#2 "You must be SO patient!" No, I am not. Ask anyone I live with and they will attest to that fact. It is sad that having a large brood AND being married for 25 years I haven't made more progress on that virtue. Maybe by the time I am 70.

#3 "You must be SO organized." Actually, I do like to be organized. I think it is fun to organize things but it takes time, which I am often so short on. So I am not very organized at all.

#4 ( and this is the clincher) "You must be a saint!" I always find that one particularly funny. I am SURELY not a saint.
Yes, having a lot of kids can be hard work and stressful, but what job isn't? Everyone has something about their job/vocation they don't like or is difficult. I could never be a brain surgeon or an astronaut or .......on and on the list goes, but I do like what I do ( most of the time :) so it is no big deal. I also believe that this is what God wants me to do, so I do have a* bit * of help from above (LOL! wink wink!)