What I learned from a big family.

As part of Reviewing all that is Mecham, I decided that maybe it was time to talk a little about the Mecham Family that I grew up with on Comb Circle. Don't worry Machelle, I am not going to reveal any of the embarrassing stuff, just a few things that people that didn't grow up in a huge family would not understand.
1) Clean Socks are everything. I don't know how my Mom ever kept up with the laundry, I mean think about it 11 kids 1 outfit per day per boys, 3 outfits per day per girl. I washing machine. Pants, shirts and underwear are territorial, and it was understood that they were meant to be worn only by their owner, socks, that is a whole different story. We had a huge sock basket that all the socks ended up in. Tube socks had stripes, and unfortunately there was only 2 pair of each. If you were lucky enough to find a matching pair you got to wear shorts, if not, long pants in the middle of summer.
2) Be on time for dinner. If you were late, you probably had to find something else.
3) Never go out to dinner with the whole family. I hated to go out to dinner and have people from across the room sit and count.
4) Birthdays don't count. I don't mean from Moms standpoint, but I think I know the quarter of the season of the year that everyone was born, but when there is a birthday a week, it kind of gets old to celebrate.
5) Just because there are five seatbelts in a vehicle doesn't mean that it is a 5 passenger car. Sitting on laps, riding on windows, maybe once in the trunk was acceptable.
6) Don't forget to count often. Especially if you are a road trip.
7) At Christmas, Nobody sleeps.
8) Never, I mean Never... bring home a boyfriend or girlfriend. It doesn't matter how bad or wonderful they are, once they leave life gets brutal.
9) Find good hiding places. If you have girlscout cookies and they are found under the drawer beneath the bed buried behind a pile of clothes, it is your own fault that they were eaten, you should have hid them better. The same applies for love letter, pictures, loose change etc...
10) Being oldest has it's advantages. It means no hand-me downs, getting the best seat at the couch, and having complete control when Mom and Dad leave.

I could probably come up with more, but I think I will stop there and see if any of the other Mechams or anyone that came from a family the size of a small town can come up with their own items for the list.