Today, I want to say Thank You to the kind cashier who said to my husband on Father's Day (we have three daughters with a 4th on the way)... "Wow, you are so blessed! You have all these wonderful, beautiful daughters and they adore you so much! How lucky you are! Happy Father's Day!"
I was almost startled by what he said, but I was so thrilled to hear it! You see, having so many children of the same gender (and my friends with 3 or more boys have testified to the same experience)... we typically hear, "Are you trying for a boy?" "I bet you wish you had a son." "You poor thing (to my husband especially)... you're so outnumbered." "I feel sorry for you with all these girls." Likewise, families with many of one gender and one of the other, often hear similar comments about the "outnumbered child" (I speak from lifelong experience with that combination growing up).
These comments always make me very sad and I'm never sure how to properly respond. They make me sad because I honestly believe that God gives us the children He has specifically chosen for our family... and we're DELIGHTED with what He chose. We'd feel the same if we had 4 boys, 1 girl and 3 boys, 2 of each, or any combination. It was always our desire simply to have children and we are extremely grateful and know we are blessed to have healthy, bright, loving, kind, creative.... I could go on and on... daughters who adore one another and their parents, grandparents, family, friends, and the Lord. I can't imagine anything better than that.
When someone comments about being outnumbered, or wishing for boys, or anything that implies we would prefer to have children other than the ones we have, it makes me very very sad. I never ever want my children to hear or think for a second that we would ever wish for anything other than the delightful daughters we are blessed with, and I feel confident that other parents feel the same with their children.
I am going to try to remember, like our Father's Day cashier, to comment to other families on just how wonderful their family is and how blessed they are (no matter how many children they have or what gender they are) and I think it would be wonderful if everyone responded just as he did. What a great reaction to a Daddy surrounded by girls who think he is the greatest father in the whole world.... we ARE blessed!
Written by Kristina Light