"They're all mine."

I was watching a few extra kids today while our friends moved, and after doing as much indoor entertaining as possible, and feeding them supper, I decided to take the 5 boys and 2 girls outside. That way they could run more, the lightsabers had more space to swing, and we could all get some fresh air. The park proved a bit trying with the two one year olds, so I buckled the two little ones into the wagon and we went on a walk hunting for bears and spying on the movers. We had a great time, and they are wonderful kids, so really it wasn't that big of a deal for me to be a sole parent with seven children. But time and time again we were confronted with strangers whose eyes were bulging and asking the question, "Are they all yours?" Miss J finally asked me WHY people kept asking that question. I told her it was because I was the only parent with seven children ages 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 1 and 1 - quite an impossible feat. The questioners always seemed relieved, though still amazed, when I would admit that only four were mine. I thought about how when we read stories together and they all clamored for my lap, how when one cries I automatically reach out and I realized that as a mother and friend to their mother, they are all mine. I love them all. I could never have seven children of my own, but I've mothered many through the years that I will always consider mine.