The Elephant in the Room

Here I am referring to my gorgeous; 2 almost 3 year old daughter, as an elephant!  

 You decide – I don't really think she looks like an elephant!  

Bubsieboo is the light of the family’s life.  

 We are all in adoration of this cute bundle of joy that has entered our world.  

 Every day is a new delight to be experienced by us all, young and old – with Bubsieboo in our home.

The sibling gap between our children is a bit unique.  The dancer was 12 when Bubsieboo was born, the swimmer 10, and the cricketer 7.  It is unusual to have a gap of 12 years oldest to youngest and then 7 years between 2^nd youngest and youngest.

We considered all of those elements when we were still hoping to have our fourth child.  Also unusually, we always wanted 4 children (I think I may have wanted it as a little girl!  And luckily Mr M agreed with the dream) Very few people are lucky enough to say the number of children they would like to have in their family and achieve that dream.

Things were going along swimmingly with the first 3 children.  Each time we hoped to have a child, we were lucky enough to conceive.  By the time we had 3 beautiful children we were run off our feet.  3 children under 5 is a heavy schedule.  We were quickly thrown into our oldest starting school and all of the busyness that comes with that new change in circumstance.  Amid health concerns for Mr M and a crazy life, we were still very keen to have our fourth child.  Nature did not agree.  Apart from some very early term miscarriages, the fourth child did not look like a reality.

With 3 fantastic children, you can never lament not having the desired ‘number’ of children.  We had a fantastic family, we were very content manoeuvring through life’s highs and lows and there was never any disappointment that the fourth child was not being born.

It was always there.  There was always a ‘what if’.  So with a sensible head on my shoulders, it was decided that if I did not conceive prior to 40 then that door was closed.

So it was with great excitement that Bubsieboo arrived 6 weeks before my 40^th Birthday!!

I had not thought through the 4 children thing properly.  If I actually had Bubsieboo when I first had hoped- life would have been manic, and you may have discovered me rocking in the corner – at the very least, I would never have started my own business.   

Having the gap between children in our family has been fantastic.  All of our children have benefited greatly from the arrival of Bubsieboo.   

We have all learnt so much from her and she in turn has had a wonderful past 2 years with many mothers, fun siblings and a great ‘all round’ family environment.

In saying this, she is always the ELEPHANT.  

I love watching people work out that the girls towering over their mother are actually older sisters to the confident Bubsieboo.  When people are shocked they really do show all emotion on their faces – no poker faces here.  It takes a couple of minutes to process and then people usually look at me enquiringly.  They want to know.  

• Was it a mistake?
• Could I have really thought this through?
• Why would you go back?
• It must be a new partner?

In all sincerity I answer the ELEPHANT questions.

Bubsieboo was a much wanted and loved choice to have another person in our family.   are thrilled that we have our 4 beautiful blessings in our life.

Bubsieboo is a much loved, planned for and desired addition to our family.  We feel lucky everyday to have our own little 'elephant in the room'

For the Love of Learning

Donna