First Person Singular:
There’s lots to treasure in a super-sized family

By Margery Webb
George Washington High School

It all started back in San Diego in the early 1950s when a handsome young sailor, Carter Ruddle, and his new wife Margery gave birth to their first child - a baby boy named Roy Carter. Less than a year later, the couple was blessed with another son, Phillip Lee. The next year another boy, Robert, was born; then another, Charles and another, Richard.

For the next 20 years the family grew, one child at a time, until there were a total of 11 children — six boys and five girls. My mother was number eight.

Although there are only two children in my immediate family, I can’t say that I don’t know what it’s like to have a ton of brothers and sisters. My little sister and I are two of 20 grandchildren, and we all behave just like siblings.

Naturally, there are a few downsides to being in such a large family. With all of the grandchildren, it’s hard to distinguish yourself from everyone else. It seems like no matter what you try to do, someone else had already done it long before you, back when they were your age.

Also, no one person is ever the center of everyone’s attention. You may have won a volleyball match the night before, but one of your cousins may have just announced her engagement. You may have gotten straight A’s, but another cousin may have sent a letter home to his parents about how much he loves his new college.

Fortunately, though, there are many more things about life in a large family that are good rather than bad.

For starters, family gatherings are always a blast. You don’t even have to get everyone together - maybe just gather a few aunts and uncles and their children to have a cookout or get a group of them to come watch a football game. My family uses any excuse to throw a party and invite as many people as will come.

There’s also no shortage of playmates. I can remember winding through crowded kitchens during the holidays, playing with cousins who were close to my age. When I was younger, there was always something to do, always someone to play with.

Now that I have grown up, I don’t play, I still have plenty to do. I watch younger cousins, hang out with the older cousins who watched me when I was a baby or spend time with my aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Having a large family also means learning lots of fun family stories. For the rest of my life, I am going to remember the stories Uncle Roy told me about deceased family members that I never got to meet, what my aunts and uncles were like when they were young and what troubles my grandparents went through raising 11 children. On countless holidays, we’d laugh for hours at all these tales.

Many of the stories I have heard about my mother’s family are what inspires me to write. Trust me, with all the characters I’m related to, it wouldn’t be hard to write a book about what I have experienced myself, let alone what I’ve heard told by others.

Of course, the whole family started with my grandparents, and to me, they are two of the most amazing people I ever have or ever will meet. They went through so much to give their children the best life possible.

Talking with my grandfather — even if it’s only for a moment — or sitting at the piano listening to my grandmother play beautiful music makes me realize how lucky I am to be a part of this family. It also makes me realize how much I want to share these things that I have experienced with my own children and grandchildren.