Back in the day, my family really took one line in the Bible to heart; Go forth and multiply.

My great grandfather had 14 children. Each one of those children believed that their father was right in taking that line and devoting his entire life to it. As a consequence of that belief they virtuously had around the same number of children. Each. My great grandfather probably died a happy man believing himself to be the one true propagator of the faith, for, as a legacy, he left behind him 104 grandchildren.

My father, one of eleven children, has 93 first cousins and I have not even attempted the impossible task of determining how many second cousins I have. Luckily for all of us, less was the new more during my parents generation and they stuck to 3 children. Though sometimes my younger brother makes my older sister and I wish that the new more had been a maximum of two.

My mother is the oldest of six children, quite a normal number when you begin comparing it to 11, 14, 16 etc. Quite some time back, her younger brother, my uncle, had decided he didn't want to have children. My grandmother realized that reproducing like bunnies was not quite in vogue as it was in her day but seemed to think that we as a family could not be allowed to die out. She already had 15 grandchildren but believed in taking precautions. She tried tears, she tried threats and even tried the much overused "I'm old. My last request...". Finally she threw in what she thought was her fail safe; "God said go forth and multiply".

She still has 15 grandchildren. I still have 14 cousins. My parents still have 12 nieces and nephews. And my uncle still has no children.


Raisa