dear mom of 6

today we went to the children's museum. you went too with your 6 kids ages 2-10. we happened to pull up to the museum at the same time and park right next to each other. i followed your family to the front doors. i saw that the 3 older children all held hands in a line behind you. you had the 2 year old on your hip, and the other 2 children were holding hands and the 2 year old's foot to stay all connected. you 7 walked across 2 cross walks without you nagging the children to do this or that. from the looks of it, i think you were enjoying yourself.

we chatted on multiple occasions while inside the museum, maxson bumped into your kids and may have accidentally destroyed a few of their creations. your kids didn't get mad at him, and you didn't have to tell your kids how they should or should not behave. your kids didn't fight with each other or others. they didn't run off, all 6 kind of stayed in the same areas as they played. all your kids seemed like they were having so much fun. you looked like you were having so much fun too, unstressed.

how.

how do you do this?

how do you get from the point of mother of 1 needing to watch their every move to make sure they don't stick trash in their mouth, fight over toys, behave appropriately, not run off, and share toys to the point of leisurely watching 6 run around?

how do you teach them to behave so well? how do you stay patient? how do you teach them to be so kind? how do you enjoy activities unstressed? how do you find time to make sure they each feel deeply loved by you? how do you raise such well behaved, happy boys and girls all while keeping your cool?

i admire you mom of 6. i admire your parenting. i admire the fact that you home school. i admire your determination to provide fun learning opportunities for your kids. i admire your joy in raising 6 children. i admire your energy. i admire that you take care of yourself while taking care of them. i admire you.

dear mom of 6,

whatever you're doing don't stop. you are inspiring moms of 1 all around you.