h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's how many people we still have living in our home. Three. Of ~SEVEN~? Yes.

Dad, Mom, #1 Son, #2 Son, #3 Daughter, #4 Daughter, and #5 Daughter. Otherwise known on these threads as: B4, A---, I---, R---, S---, B---, and Y---. Which—if you look at it and squint—spells Bairsby. (That's not our family name; it's just a coincidental observation.)

Here's the math: 1 + 1 = 7. Ours is a "melded family." It's a yours-mine-and-ours arrangement. She brought #1, #2, and #4 to the marriage; I brought #3 to the marriage. Together, we brought #5 into the family.

Seven people, under one roof. The logistics of it was often staggering. I used to joke with A--- that "they come cheaper by the dozen." She was never amused by such extrapolation. Despite the often elbow-to-elbow living arrangements, we all survived to tell about it. We had great times; we had rough patches. We still love one another, despite more than one serious faux pas made while we grew up together.
About twenty years between the adults and the oldest child; eighteen years from the oldest child to the youngest child. I sometimes joke that having our youngest was like having our own grandchild. Our youngest is rarely amused by the thought. She's the one who instigated having my wife color my grey hair back to its earlier brown, a debacle resulting in the nickname "Paprika Spice" at work. Payback's a witch…or something along those lines.

One by one, we've seen them leave the nest. Our oldest daughter, S---, actually left us first, to be with her mother. She had a number of personal adventures along the way to today. Our oldest son, I---, actually tried "living on his own" with a friend's family, by coming to live in St Louis (from Iceland), just out of High School. It didn't pan out as well as he'd hoped, and he boomeranged back to us when we moved back to the States (to St Louis), after my final military tour of duty. When the time and circumstances demanded it, we sent both of our boys, I--- and R---, out into the world to start their adult lives, with the occasional bit of help. Our middle daughter, B---, graduated high school early via home-schooling and struck out on her own. Though she calls us frequently, we don't see her very often. Our youngest, Y---, still lives at home with us.

Extended family stats: I--- married first, to a wonderful lady with one girl. They've since had two more girls who are the cutest little things! R--- married a few years later, to a wonderful lady who had three daughters old enough for high school and college. They have a very comfortable lifestyle, and he's taking college courses in the medical field, to work closer to his wife, who's already a medical professional. S--- had an adorable little daughter, lost a prospective fiancé, then found and married a self-motivated military man. They enjoy life in California as (currently) enlisted members, with sights set on her husband becoming an officer (in the near future). Even though B--- has had a number of setbacks, she's now living a life in law enforcement. We're expecting Y--- to grow into her adulthood (sooner than most) and finally leave us with an empty nest. We can wait the few years before it happens, because neither of us is really ready to lose her just yet.

That's us. I know it's not an in-depth treatise of who we are, but—then again—this is the internet and I'm not inclined to give away too much. This is enough. At least it gives you a glimpse at the family dynamics that have fashioned a big chunk of my life. These events—marriages, births, household moves, et al—have tempered my demeanor and I'm certain some of those qualities show through in my interactions here. So you see, the persona you know as B4 is actually composed of inputs from quite a number of other people's lives. What a wonderful amalgamation!

B4itellyouaboutthe7grandchildrenwehave...sofar