The infamous words of Admiral Stockdale, Ross Perot’s Vice Presidential candidate in the Vice Presidential debate of 1992 Elections ring true as I begin writing my introduction. Who am I? My name is Cory Grizzle and I am a wife and mother. I have a lot of kids. Like a lot. My oldest is out of the house, though threatening to move back in. I’m not sure where we’ll put him. Maybe the chicken coop. My second oldest finished her first and hopefully weirdest year of college. This pandemic has caused her to move back in for way more than she bargained for. My third oldest has her eyes set on a local college that doesn’t have dorms, so there’s that. My kids keep getting older and my house stays the same size.
I realize you are thinking that previous paragraph does not describe either who I am or why I am here, but just bear with me. The next three in my family are girls, all pre-teen to early teen. Just let that sink in. The moodiest possible stage and I have three of them in my house. All the time. Interacting with each other. The next three are boys: A set of twins and another one eighteen months later. I had dreams of treating them like triplets and moving them along at the same pace. Nature, however, believes that eighteen months is a long time in the child development world, so there goes that theory. Sure, they play together, but when there is a fight, it’s two against one, and that womb-mate thing is strong.
My last one, the one that broke the mold, the one I am maybe most grateful for right now (huge emphasis on right now) came five years after my ninth one. After I had a perfect spacing of every other odd calendar year, he came and not only dared to be born five whole years later, but in an even year to boot. Before him, I could say my children’s ages (between December 31 and March 22) were 4,6,6,8,10,12,14,16,18 and now I have to think about it.
Describing my children, and their accomplishments and what personalities they have is an accurate description of who I am. I birthed them, I fed them, I nurtured them, I educated them, I planned their days, nights, chores, activities, I lived my life around, through, and for them. I had a lot of them. They are my life. They are also loud, obnoxious, obstinate, frustrating, power hungry and most days pretty dense. But they are also incredibly cute, (until they’re five) curious, loving, kind, (sometimes) articulate, (as teenagers) talented and man, are they funny. Entertainment through all stages of life for all reasons.
My life has revolved and evolved around these children for almost 21 years and I have fought my vocation and embraced it at many different times in my life. Marrying my high school sweetheart and having a lot of kids was the only thing I knew I wanted to do and would be successful. I guess you could say I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my abilities in the workforce. Maybe I could have done well, but I just didn’t see the point when I had a baby at home who needed me. So I quit my job with the second baby and devoted my time to helping them grow and then growing some more. I have no regrets about this decision. None. Many people around me have way more money than I do. Some have cleaner houses, nicer cars, more updated rooms, but I have a family that I have grown for God to make a difference when I will not be able to anymore. I have taken all those frustrations and sacrifices and built them up in heaven. This is not my home, and when I watch the news, I can only say, “Thank you Jesus for inviting me to share in a much better life.” I just have to get through this one and try to make a difference.
And that’s why I’m here. I have always wanted to make a difference. This may be why I wanted a lot of kids. Captive audience, maybe?
photo credit: Cori Nations Photography http://www.corinationsphotography.com
Complex Simplicity 