Bored? No, not me.

I know all of us have sat at home bored with nothing to do. Waiting for that text or call inviting you to do something. In a big family, I wish for those times. My family has something going on 24/7.

Everybody in my family does sports. It's something that I could honestly never see my life without. I have been playing sports ever since I could walk, it's in my blood. It all started with the swim team at age 5 and sky rocketed from there. The trend has gone through the rest of my siblings. They all swim and play other sports. We constantly have practice or a game to go to. Over the weekends, my Saturdays are usually filled with either a swim meet or soccer games. I never get tired of this though, I love going to the games and watching my siblings succeed. Plus, I want them to have those memories of their big sister being at their games cheering them on from the sidelines. I want them to know I support them in everything they do.

On to the not so fun stuff. The laundry in my house NEVER goes away. Luckily, we have a laundry room now where we can shut the door ha. Seriously though, once we get one load done someone else has brought another. Another thing that is constantly piling up is the dishes. In my family, we do not own a dishwasher. You never say that you are bored in my family because my mom will find something you can do. It is more than likely one of the two things that I just typed. So I have just learned to go back to my room, shut the door, and hope my parents forget I'm there. If not, then I'm screwed and it's clothes all night.

Oh and I changed up my playlist. Just to prove that not all of my music is country haha

Money

In a big family, we use a lot of money. We use money on doctor's appointments, sports, clothes, etc. We are constantly watching what we spend money on and seeing if there is a way to spend less of it. My sister cuts coupons out of the Sunday paper to help us for when we go grocery shopping. That payment is outrageous every time we go. Another way to help out my family with the money problem is the rule that my mom made. The rule is that when you turn 16, you have to find a job whether it's over the school year or the summer. So, the job that I got was to be a lifeguard. What's not to love....yelling at kids, at a pool, and I get a really nice tan by the end of the summer. This has really helped my family out because now that I have my own money, I don't have to ask them for money for gas. I pay for my own gas which in return has made me really conscious of how I spend my money these days. Another reason for the job is to help pay for college. My parents agreed to pay all of our tuition as long as we pay for our books. In my opinion that's a really good trade off ha. So, yes having to watch money stinks but then again it is making the kids in my family more responsible.

Responsibility

I think being the eldest girl in a family you are given more responsibility than any of the other siblings. At least this is the case in my family. I have always had more responsibility than my older brother. I'm my mom's right hand almost all of the time. She counts on me for helping out with a lot of things. Sometimes having so much responsibility sucks but after thinking of everything that my parents have done for me, I realize I just need to suck it up and do it.

Some of the responsibilities I have as the eldest girl are to watch the kids. When my mom leaves to go for a meeting or a doctors appointment, she leaves the rest of the kids with me. It is my responsibility to watch and make sure they are staying safe. When they go outside, even if I don't go out there with them. I will check on them a lot during the time they are out. It will be my butt on the line if anything should happen to them. Plus, I don't know what I would do with myself if something actually did. Another thing I have to do if my mom is gone is to cook them something to eat. Whether it's chicken nuggets for Jan or mac/cheese for the rest of the kids.

Another one of my responsibilities is driving. I am asked so many times to go pick of this or that child from school. When I don't have soccer I am more than likely going to pick my brother up from school to help my mom out. She has enough on her plate than having to go out when I'm right there and can get him easily. If it's not picking him up then it's picking up the other two girls from their school. It's not just school that I have to do, I also take them to a lot of their sporting events. On multiple occasions I have had to take Jeff and his friend to Sports Quest for their soccer practice. Which honestly I don't mind because I love sports, so it's not a big deal having to sit and watch their practice. I don't know how some people were allowed to get a license. They are freaking crazy drivers. Whenever I have my siblings or anyone for that matter in the car with me, I'm extra careful when driving. It's my responsibility to get them from point A to B in the same condition I picked them up in.

Having a big family requires team work to get stuff done. I'm not going to sit here and say I never complain about all of the stuff I have to do. That would be the biggest lie ever. In a big family you realize that it's not all about YOU, you can't be selfish. You have to help out your family to get stuff done. As I have gotten older, I have realized that by having so many responsibilities that it has helped me in the long run.