AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (1) Desire (Poetry) This is a poem that i wrote about someone and i know everyone can relate to in one way or another so check it out :] [87 words] [Teenage]
The Eleventh Child Seventh Star
The air was warm and the sky was gleaming with stars. It was not an ordinary night, for tonight there was going to be two arrivals. Six sisters and four brothers waited anxiously for the arrivals. They were excited and felt like it was Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa to come to their house. These brothers and sisters were not like many other families. They all came from the same parents and were lucky enough to be part of such a large family. The first arrival of a lunar eclipse came as no surprise since it had been predicted to happen for some time. It was the second arrival that all of the children were awaiting. They tossed and turned in their beds, until the phone rang. Their grandmother answered the phone, and yelled to all of the children: “It’s a girl!” The children jumped up and down, hugged, and yelled; the eleventh child and baby of their family had arrived.
This newborn baby was me. Now at the age of twenty, I can look back and reflect on my experiences and life lessons that I have observed as being the “baby” of such a large family. One can imagine that having such a large family will always bring a lot of noise. My house is never quiet. Holidays are even more extreme. If you walked into my house, you would think that a homerun was just scored at a World Series baseball game.
I often find myself stepping back to watch and enjoy the interaction among everyone. It is hard for one to envision a family of eleven children that are close together and share such a unique bond. Much of this closeness has developed through our family business. What once began 35 years ago as one person selling corn and tomatoes, has now evolved into a large summer market. We still sell corn and tomatoes, but we also added many other items; all varieties of fresh fruits, vegetables, pies and other baked goods, dairy products, water ice, breads and many other specialty items are included. As soon as we were able to add and subtract, there we were outside selling produce. Children barely even tall enough to reach over the counter-tops were waiting on customers. Just like everyone knows that there are seven days in a week, everyone knew that the children in my family worked at the business. Without this business, my parents would never have been able to send eleven children to Catholic school, and then have ten children graduate from college. I will be the final child in my family to graduate from college. A Christmas business was also added since the summer business closes in the fall. From mid-November until Christmas, we sell a variety of Christmas items, which include: trees, arrangements, wreaths, and cemetery decorations. All items, except for the trees, are handmade by my family. The scene at the Christmas business is much like the North Pole. Little elves working tediously on their projects, while being guided by Santa who is much like my father.
As many of my brothers and sisters graduated from college, they “retired” from the summer business to embark on new jobs. However, the Christmas business is a time when everyone will return and work together; much like birds fly south for the winter, and return for summer. My siblings fly to their jobs during the day, and then devote their nights and weekends to the family business.
Family dinners are very common in my large Italian family. In a matter of seconds, our dining room table can open and expand to be fourteen feet long. But now since my oldest sister lives in Europe and another in New York, holidays are usually the only time when family dinners will include all eleven of us. And now with the addition of many grandchildren, we had to expand to two tables for dinner, instead of just one. I thought the noise was loud before there were sixteen children under the age of eleven running around my house. Before so many grandchildren were born my house was like a constant small party, and now it has become Grand Central Station. I never imagined the chaos could get any worse, but now the noise has been magnified sixteen times, but I should say 1600 times since eight of the sixteen grandchildren are under the age of four! I should also mention that this is how my family is without any aunts, uncles, cousins, or grandparents even included.
There are many stories and memories I could share about my family. I could probably write an entire book on my parents, and why I think they should be canonized as saints. I have been asked numerous times if I would rather have been an only child. My response is always the same, no. I would be a fish taken out of the water and expected to survive on the land if I was an only child. I have learned more from being the “baby” of such a large wonderful family than I will ever learn from any person or school.
Submit Your Review for The Eleventh Child
Required fields are marked with (*). Your e-mail address will not be displayed.