Moms of big families are used to it. The stares, the whispers, the sometimes just plain rude questions or statements said in front of their children. Children are a blessing, but a lot of people simply act as if they are a nuisance. Karissa Collins knows this all too well. Her Instagram fans have followed her big family for years of milestones and mundane tasks alike.
Karissa Collins Takes to Instagram to Share the (Hilarious) Realities of Having a Big Family
“Are they all yours?”
“Are you done?
“You sure have your hands full!”
“Did you mean to have so many?”
Moms of big families are used to it…but also tired of it. And honestly, they shouldn’t have to put up with this kind of public inquisition about their reproductive choices. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but they’re not really entitled to GIVE you that opinion when you didn’t ask for it.
No one understands this better than mom of seven Karissa Collins. Last week she posed a very poignant question regarding big families on Facebook, and the post quickly went viral with over 3,000 shares from like-minded readers. Recounting an unpleasant experience she had in line with a fellow shopper at a grocery store, Collins asked, “So why is it that we joke so much about having or not having children?” That is the question Collins asked, but what I also personally want to know the answer to is, “Why do other people think they can joke so much about perfect strangers having or not having more children?”
Collins included a photo of her family, and said:
Joking aside…
Children are a blessing. We say it but don’t speak it. I am guilty of this as well.
I scroll through Facebook and see people joking about being pregnant and joking about not being pregnant. The newest joke is who can make it through the summer without getting pregnant. When I go places, my life seems to be a joke to many. A joke about not owning a television or having anything better to do.
But God taught me a few years ago that life is not to be taken lightly. It is sacred. It is only given by God. It is a serious matter. It is a big deal.
When and why did we start taking life into our own hands?
The other day I was at the store standing in line at the cash register. The sweet cashier congratulated me on my 7th baby. The woman checking out turned to me and said, “Oh hunny, you need to put an aspirin between those legs!”
I have to say I have never had this personally said to me. I was pretty shocked. It was supposed to be funny, but why? Why is it common humor to joke about not wanting more children?
I understand children are hard. They make us sacrifice dreams and desires we had planned out. But I have never met a family that said they wished they never had their last child. Every single child has been a blessing. Every parent says that they can’t imagine life without every single child.