You know you live with a lot of young children when...

You know you live with a lot of young children when you tell time not by the clock, but instead by the cartoon showing on PBS.

You know you live with a lot of young children when everyone starts out the night sleeping in their own bed and wakes up the next morning in someone else's.

You know you live with a lot of young children when the most requested meals are pbj sandwiches, pizza and hot dogs, and the nicest restaurant you've eaten in lately offered $.69 hamburgers and $.39 ice cream cones.

You know you live with a lot of young children when the closest you've come to an art gallery is the collection of paintings that you keep picking up off the floor and returning to the increasingly overburdened magnets covering the refrigerator. .

You know you live with a lot of young children when the last novel you read was The Little Engine that Could . And the next novel that you are likely to read is The Little Engine that Could .

You know you live with a lot of young children when you and your friends opt to take a four-passenger sedan over your roomier min-van because you don't have to remove and reinstall any car seats.

You know that you live with a lot of young children when you dream of hiring a real maid as you wipe up the bathroom that your one year old son has just "cleaned" with the toilet brush and toilet water.

You know that you live with a lot of young children when your two year old Golden Retriever, answers to the name Egan, and is also known as your son. And you are grateful that you can enjoy two things a dog and a son for the price of one.

You know that you live with a lot of young children when your floor is covered with paper scraps, your table is covered with paper scraps and your four year old daughter is covered with paper scrap and glue from her latest art project, which you now must find a spot for in the "art gallery". Of course you can just call in the one year old maid. He cleans refrigerators, inside and out as well as bathrooms.

You know that you have hope that these children may someday grow up when your six year old informs you that he is going to be a businessman and sell the books that he is now writing when he gets older. Of course some of the excitement is lost when he continues telling you his plan for building his office in you backyard!
But at least your retirement years will be provided for by his plans to build another office next to his, so that Dad can help manage the business.

You know that you are happy with your life when you and the other parent in the house can look up from the clutter, crumbs, and chaos all around you and smile at each other.

December 2002