Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Seemoya's avatar

I wish I had seen this earlier! I have three nieces and a nephew, and many more (actually second cousins) and I also can't imagine my life without them. I actually used to work at a center for homeless kids and was often assigned to the infant classrooms. It was usually very chaotic and left me feeling exhausted and my coworkers asked me if it made me change my mind about having kids, but it actually made me more enthusiastic! That job had me feeling like Bobby in The Florida Project. Limited as his resources were, he was still always so kind, gentle, and protective of the kids.

Expand full comment
jd wolfe's avatar

the benefit of other people's children is not only when they are really young. how about teens? we have 6 bonus kids who came into our lives as teens. they are bonus kids because they lived with us for extended periods under informal circumstances with their biological parents' approval for a variety of reasons. whatever the reasons, they became members of our family. we had 3 kids and didn't really want or need more. but, here they came. they're all boys - now men in their 30's and early 40's. we are still quite close with 3 of them. they all hold a very special place in my heart and our daughter, the youngest of the lot, considers them all brothers. we were fortunate to have the financial means to keep them easily. they bunked all over the house and generally took care of themselves. one boy was particularly grateful for a 10 foot long sofa he appropriated as his twin bed at home was never long enough for his 6 and a half foot long body. we have so many fond memories of these boys. they enriched our lives while we eased their way through some tough times.

Expand full comment
1 more comment...

No posts