Cheaper by the dozen…minus 3.

So what did you do this morning?

Did you wake up to the sound of your alarm? Or maybe the gentle nudge of your partner as they climbed out of the bed. Did you then go have a nice warm shower? or perhaps head to the kitchen for some sourdough toast and a coffee as you watched the morning news…

Not me.

As the oldest child in a family of seven these luxuries I have mentioned above might occur once or twice a year for me, when my family goes on the rare vacation. The atmosphere is hectic, food scarce and relaxation time minimal.

This morning I awoke to the prodding of a tiny finger in my backside, I turned to see a vegemite covered finger heading in my direction. Attached to  this hand is a small five year old boy, toast still in hand saying

“get up, get up”.

Out side my door I can hear the rumble of activity interrupted by random outbursts of frustration.

“Get off me”,

“Come get your lunches kids”

and

“will someone go hand Mia a toilet roll!”

When they eventually all leave for school and work the house is empty, and I make my way to the kitchen. Jam is smeared across the cupboards, the stove is still on and the milk has been left out to go warm. I decide to go with toast but when I peer into the bread tin all I see is the end crust pieces of around 5 different loafs. I go with a banana. As I make my way to sit in front of the television the phone rings, its mum and she tells me that the 5 year old has left his goggles at home, and today is school swimming. With a half eaten banana in one hand and a pair of goggles in the other I get into my car and make my way to the pool.

 

So here I am, laptop propped on lap with a banana peel lying limp at my feet as I sit on a small bench cramped between parents, some gleaming with pride, others sighing in frustration as there child spits water at their instructor. Every 30 seconds my brother will scream at me,

“watch this, watch me siany!”

I peer my eyes above the laptop, give him a smile and a thumbs up and then write on as I try to squeeze in a blog post for the day.

This is my life, its exhausting, its frantic, its smelly, its stressful, its time consuming, its volatile, its immature, its mature and most of all its wonderful.

I’ve been struggling to find a topic for discussion on this blog that doesn’t relate directly to Networked Media. But after Tuesdays unlecture, and the discussion concerning blogs similarities to a diaries, I thought a little life analysis couldn’t hurt. On Tuesday it was mentioned that a blog can be used as a space to unpack our ideas and analyse them as we go, so that we can come to an eventual conclusion.

So as I have sat here, ranted and raved, whined and sighed. I have come to some form of broad conclusion, As Elliot stated on Tuesday

“Expressing ideas helps us form the”.

But this post isn’t about Networked Media, it’s about life in a big family and what that means, it has its positives and negatives,

Negatives-

People always referring to my parents sex life.

and much more…but that’s the worst one.

Positives-

The baby’s are so cute!!!!!!

and so entertaining.

 

 

So call my family irresponsible, environmentally unsustainable, or crazy hippies. but someones got to do it, and I’m glad its me.