I have a theory. This theory sometimes is all that gives me hope, but today it makes me sad. Let me explain.
Do you know any large families? At my church, when my mom gave birth to her forth child, we became a large family. When there was just three of us kids (ages 6, 4, and a baby) my mother decided she was going to homeschool us. Mom felt that God wanted her to homeschool, and she is still doing so today. Soon after that we became a part of a LARGE homeschool group. In our homeschool group.... we were NOT a large family at all. There's a family with THIRTEEN kids. A few with 8 kids. LOTS with 5 kids. I never thought my family was large. But now? There are seven of us. My mom has gone through labor NINE times. Again, do you know any large families? If you do.... Have you ever looked at their ages?
I have found more and more that there tends to be an age pattern in large families. Sometimes there's even a boy, girl, boy, girl pattern. I find it quite odd... and quite interesting... and it gives me hope. Maybe I missed that first time my pattern came around, and it just hasn't come again. Anyways... let me give you a crazy BUT TRUE example of an age pattern:
Back when I was in gymnastics (about 13 years old) my mom's best friend had three children. The first child she had shortly after she got married. After he was born they started trying again. She wanted a large family. They tried and tried and tried.... nothing happened. So they looked into adoption. She adopted a wonderful son who was about a year younger than her first born. When her first born was 10 years old.... she got pregnant!!!! They didn't think that would ever happen again. When her first child was 11 she gave birth to another boy. ELEVEN years difference.... but that's not the end. You see when that baby boy was 10 years old, she got pregnant AGAIN! Creating another eleven year difference between him and her new daughter! That lady now has four children. The three children that she gave birth to each have an eleven year age gap between them. How do you explain that? I wouldn't be surprized if in her mid/late 40's, when her daughter is 10 years old, if she gets pregnant once again.
Wow this post is really wordy... and I'm not even done! Anyways... Why would this theory make me sad now that it's June? You see me and all my siblings have a pattern... (see picture)
Not just an age pattern either! All of us girls were born in Fall/Winter. All of the boys were due in Spring/Summer (two were born WAY too early and didn't make it). My mom has given birth to five girls. The last four have been boys. Just with that, the pattern won't be complete until she has given birth to both five girls AND five boys. My prediction is that next year in the Spring/Summer my mom will give birth to her tenth child. For that to happen she will get pregnant anytime between June and January. It makes me sad because I am not pregnant yet. And once again my mother may be before me.
Do I sound crazy??? Am I sad about nothing?? When I lived at home I knew my mom was pregnant before she announced it to everybody. I found her pattern a long time ago. I used to think us girls had a pattern and the boys just didn't match. But now? Now I see they have their own pattern. Is their pattern complete? Or will I soon hear about mom's due dates? I cried when she annouced she was pregnant with Stuart, we had already been trying for a year. I don't want her to get pregnant again before me. :-(