This weekend I was the recipient of one of those 'insults disguised as casual chatter' monologues. The kind that starts out "I don't know how you can possibly give 5 children enough attention and love" and goes downhill from there. Strangely, I only get those lectures from people with one or two children. I say lecture/monologue because I just nod and smile while the person goes on and on about how exhasting their child is and how they can't understand people who have more than two children. Nothing I say would change that person's mind anyway. Let's review how neglected our children are right now. Tommy has group therapy, psychiatrist appointments and horseback riding lessons. He and Doug play D&D with a friend and the friend's father every other week. Tommy gets to go along on the Boy Scout camping trips. Poor, pitiful Sarah is secretary of the student council and a member of the art club, the school's news crew, Girl Scouts and has a part in the seventh grade play. She participates in SibShops and has a weekly sleepover either here or at a friend's house. She somehow manages to see a movie in the theater almost every week. Noah is a Boy Scout and active in Karate (3 times a week) while also participating in TAG and the school chess club. Amy has preschool twice a week and gets to participate in so many of the Girl Scout activities that she considers herself a Girl Scout. Evan has no organized activities but still nurses full-time and you will have to just trust me when I say that is a time-consuming activity. Sooooo, I just don't think my children are neglected.