Because 36 is too many...

There's a joke about Mormon women having to stop having children at 35 because 36 is too many.

It's kind of funny and whatnot but it's also a serious subject that's been on my mind lately.

I have five children.  For a Mormon family that's a nice size but not remarkable.  I know a woman with twelve who is expecting again and she is definitely remarkable in the sense that people talk about her with a kind of awe and disbelief.  People who don't have our beliefs of the importance of family and the place that children and motherhood have in our eternal perspective react to my five kids with the same feeling I get when I think of that woman on TV with her dozen and a half.  I've got no clue how she manages.  No matter how many kids you have they are a huge responsibility, require tons of sacrifice, and are a blessing and a trial all rolled into one.

I have a few close family members and friends struggling with issues of not being able to have children for a variety of reasons.  I feel a little guilty talking to them about the kids I have and I feel even more guilty talking to them about choosing whether I want to have kids or not because they don't get a choice and it seems so unfair.

I love my kids.  Some were planned, others were surprises.  I've only got one boy and he'd love to have a brother.  I've got four girls and they all help and mother the younger ones as soon as we get someone new.  I'm only thirty-two and could have more babies but my husband is about six years older than I am and he's getting pretty close to forty.  I don't want to still have teenagers when we hit retirement age and mission opportunities come around.

Children are a gift; so when do I take my name off the registry?