“Are they all yours?!”
I hear this phrase a lot whether in the US, or in Senegal. Any time I am out with all 5 of my kids, people tend to comment. I love the pleasure that I hear in peoples’ voices when they comment here though.
I recently took a trip up to the capital with our two year old, and I noticed again how nice it is to live in a culture that appreciates kids so much. In the airport teenage boys who were on the same flight helped me with my bags while trying to encourage a smile out of my daughter.
A man smiled, waved and talked with her while we were waiting for our flights. People delighted in her pretty much everywhere she went (except for the 3-5 minutes that she was screaming during the landing because she wanted to sit on my lap). Even when people had the right to be understandably annoyed at the racket she was making, as soon as she calmed down, they were treating her kindly, with no lingering attitude of resentment.
When we were in a store at the capital, she was tired and getting a little fussy, and a store manager shook her hand and gave her a lollipop just because.
Walking around town together, people would often stop and try to get her to say hi.
So many little things that warmed my heart and made me grateful that my kids get to grow up in a culture that by and large, does value children and families very much.
“Are they all yours?! That’s great! But may God bless you with more boys.”