Most everyone knows, at this point, that I have triplets. But at a recent work event I had the opportunity to introduce that fact to someone for the first time.
I got the usual amazement. I got to tell all the stories about those first few harrowing months.
And it got me thinking about some things that just are unique about triplets. Things parents of singletons or even parents with 5 kids (who aren't that different workwise from parents of multiples) don't face.
When you have singletons, or even lots of kids, the birthdays are often spaced out. Sure, you might have two birthdays close together, as our friends do. But I'm willing to bet they aren't as close as ours!
This all really hit me as my wife and I prepped for the kids' birthdays. We were looking at the presents we got them and my wife said something along the lines of "I think its all fair." It looked a little like a pretty decent Christmas haul and I responded that maybe it was too much.
To which she pointed out that if we had one kid, we wouldn't even sneeze at the number of presents. True enough. She was correct. Again. One day I'll ask her if being correct all the time gets old.
But for now I just looked at the pile again. Looking at just one of the kids' presents in isolation it was clear there wasn't that much. It was only when you looked at the three sets of presents - for one party - that it seemed like a lot.
Speaking of gifts: you know those gift bags that are handed out at parties? Those are ... well, largely they are full of junk. Most of it is sorta fun stuff kids will play with for 5 minutes before tossing aside - at the best. At its worst its total junk.
But when you leave the party with one kid, you get one bag. One set of tiny plastic dinosaur and kaleidoscope. We get 3.
I got the usual amazement. I got to tell all the stories about those first few harrowing months.
And it got me thinking about some things that just are unique about triplets. Things parents of singletons or even parents with 5 kids (who aren't that different workwise from parents of multiples) don't face.
When you have singletons, or even lots of kids, the birthdays are often spaced out. Sure, you might have two birthdays close together, as our friends do. But I'm willing to bet they aren't as close as ours!
This all really hit me as my wife and I prepped for the kids' birthdays. We were looking at the presents we got them and my wife said something along the lines of "I think its all fair." It looked a little like a pretty decent Christmas haul and I responded that maybe it was too much.
To which she pointed out that if we had one kid, we wouldn't even sneeze at the number of presents. True enough. She was correct. Again. One day I'll ask her if being correct all the time gets old.
But for now I just looked at the pile again. Looking at just one of the kids' presents in isolation it was clear there wasn't that much. It was only when you looked at the three sets of presents - for one party - that it seemed like a lot.
Speaking of gifts: you know those gift bags that are handed out at parties? Those are ... well, largely they are full of junk. Most of it is sorta fun stuff kids will play with for 5 minutes before tossing aside - at the best. At its worst its total junk.
But when you leave the party with one kid, you get one bag. One set of tiny plastic dinosaur and kaleidoscope. We get 3.
...and yet you handed out gift bags to the kids who came to your party :P
ReplyDeleteAlso, while I definitely don't want to short the kids, at this age, at least, if they're sharing a fair number of the toys fairly evenly and are likely to "grow out of them" fairly quickly, I don't think a smaller haul of presents (per child) is a bad thing. If there's a lot of overlap in playing with stuff, then they are getting their toys, but also the toys of their siblings. As long as THEY don't feel shorted, it should be fine. (And with all the presents they get from family and friends, I'm sure they don't feel shorted!)
Obviously when they're older and their interests are more unique, the idea of "sharing gifts" won't be as possible and they'll be more aware of how many presents other kids get on their birthdays (possibly). But for now? I think your kids have plenty of presents to unwrap on their birthday ;)
Social pressure!
ReplyDeleteI was talking about the gifts we got them alone, but yeah, the kids aren't lacking. And they better not feel shorted!