Why Having a Big Family Is the Most Amazing Thing Ever

I wrote this as a personal persuasive essay for college writing.

Straw wrappers flew across the table. Surreptitiously, of course. Mom and Daddy were at the other end of the chain of tables, but we had to be on our guard, just in case. Giggles (and the occasional whiny voice) punctuated the ceaseless chatter surrounding our table. We loved coming to eat at Boomerang, a burger place in south Oklahoma City. Actually, we loved going out to eat anywhere--with 11 kids in the family, going to a sit-down restaurant was a rare treat.

"Hey guys. Hey. HEY! GUYS!" I popped one of my brothers with a straw, momentarily breaking up the wrapper-flicking war. They glanced at me, and I continued, "Look over there. That little kid is STILL staring at us."

The fact that someone was staring at our table wasn't all that unusual. Every time my family goes anywhere together we get more than our fair share of double takes. Still, this particular girl couldn't have been more than 4. All we could see were her large brown eyes and her little knuckles gripping the top of the booth. I grinned as I turned back to my brothers. "Ok, on the count of 3--just stare back. Don't laugh. Just stare." My plan was greeted with snickers and whispers as it was passed down to the other end of the table. It grew hushed as everyone awaited my signal. "Ok, ready? 1,2....3!"

All heads swiveled around in unison, focusing a few tables away on those big brown eyes. Our faces were stone, devoid of any emotion. The little girl stiffened, eyes opening even wider. Slowly, she sank out of sight. We all burst out laughing and resumed our straw-wrapper war.

When my mom first married, she swore she would never have a large family. "In big families, the kids aren't special. They're just a number." In fact, pretty much the opposite is true. We often tease her about those ignorant words. Every kid in my family adds a little "something extra" to the atmosphere of our home. Amy is the blonde--athletic, funny and cute. Bethany is the tomboy, always smiling. Michael is the leader of all bb-gunning raids, backyard football games, and rooftop expeditions. Sarah is our resident musician and poet. Joshua and Caleb are the clowns. Andrew is the nosy one. John and I are the stubbornest, always butting heads yet impossible to defeat when we finally unite. Jared is the one who will blurt out what everyone else is thinking but would never dream of uttering. Jacob is the baby--the world's most adorable and intelligent 3-year-old. I could not imagine my life without any of them. Sometimes we all congregate in the living room and talk about nothing in particular for hours. If we get together and decide we want to do something--go swimming, for example--we camp outside Mom and Daddy's bedroom until, eyes rolling, they give in. On New Year's Eve we all gather in our living room and dance, laughing at the younger kids' attempts at rhythm. Sure, we have our spats, just like every other family. We get into arguments over stupid little things, like whose turn it is to feed the dogs or who didn't fold their load of laundry. But when all else fails, I know that my brothers and sisters are there to back me up. I'm proud to be on their team.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord.....Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but will speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5