A big house is always noisy. It’s not because of the TV or the phones – it’s just that life flows louder. The rustle of bare feet on the wooden floor, the clinking of spoons in cups, children’s laughter, whimsy, and endless “mom, where’s my…?” – are all parts of the symphony we call our everyday life.
We are a big family. Seven kids, two adults, one old but still chipper cat, and a perpetual sock shortage. Sometimes it feels like we’re a traveling small town: with its own routines, laws, conflicts, and, of course, miracles. No, not the ones where fairies wave their wands, but the ones that happen in the most ordinary things.
Miracle 1: When everyone is at the table
Picture this: a long table, dishes out of order, someone spills juice, someone drops a fork. The youngest tells how “there was a spider at daycare, like this one!” (points to the whole ceiling), the older one tries to talk in an important voice about politics, the middle one is laughing because one of the younger ones is eating pasta with his hands. And you look at all this, this creative mess, and you feel: this is happiness. That’s the real miracle.
Miracle 2: Silence
Yes, it happens too. Usually at 10:13 p.m. When the younger ones are already asleep, the older ones have gone to their rooms, and there is only a dim light and two mugs of tea in the kitchen. Those ten minutes with my spouse are like a private eternity. No one has anything hurt, lost, or needed right now. It’s just us, tea, and pleasant silence. And that’s a miracle.
Miracle 3: First aid and first aid
Torn pants, broken knees, tears because of a broken toy – in such moments you feel like a doctor, a magician and a diplomat. Sometimes a band-aid with a dinosaur is enough, sometimes just a hug. And every time the tears are replaced by a smile – it’s a miracle. Small, but so important.
Miracle 4: Time to yourself
A rare and almost mystical event. When you don’t have to cook, check your homework, or look for someone else’s mittens. Just sit by the window with a book or escape to the bubble bath and know that everything is okay. Because in a big family you learn to trust. First yourself, then the kids, then time.
Sometimes we think that miracles are something far away, almost a fairy tale. But the truth is that they live with us every day. In the underslept mornings, in the laughter at lunch, in the hugs before bed. We just have to learn to notice them.
A big family isn’t about perfection. It’s about love that is loud, tired, real. It’s about the little miracles that make up a big life.