The Carousel Ride

Today, I got to say YES!

A trip to a local mall and a carousel ride really hit home the sacrifices of raising a large family. 

The kids had a rainy day off from school and I had planned to take them to a local museum. We pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. I was solo with all the kids and I didn’t want to fight the crowds and be a wreck about losing sight of anyone. The kids were super disappointed, I pulled out of the parking lot with 4 kids crying. I quickly came up with a plan B, there was a local mall close by that was never crowded. I was just looking for an indoor place where everyone could stretch their legs. We hardly ever go shopping at malls and I realized that I could count on one hand how many times my littles had been to a mall.

We headed for the indoor play area in the food court and the littles played. Next to the play area was a carousel. I had planned on spending a little money for parking at the museum and didn’t use it. I made a quick decision and bought 7 of the kids tickets for a ride. You would have thought it was Christmas, the kids were so excited! For that 1 minute ride they smiled, laughed and waved. Instead of being in a mall food court, we were transported to Funland at Rehoboth Beach, where I used to ride the carousel as a kid.

It was so sweet and sad at the same time. Raising a large family we say no almost all the time to extras and treats. We literally don’t have money for anything beyond the necessities. My kids will always have hand me down clothes, shoes and toys, they will never have the newest or shiniest things. A trip out for ice cream for us costs what some families spend on a dinner out. I hope one day they will look back and see that all the sacrifices were worth it. Even though they didn’t get to go to amusement parks or out to dinner often, they have 8 other people that will love them and have their back no matter where they go and what they do. We spend our Friday nights having movie night at home or playing flag football in the front yard, on weekends we go to local parks and free museums, I hope those memories will stay with them. I love that they truly appreciate when we get to say “yes” to that rare treat.

I will remember that today, I got to say “yes” and it was awesome!