Last week, when I was in Arizona, Husband had to go to New York to present at a conference. Since leaving Dog and Aitch home together wasn’t a viable option, Husband took Aitch with him and they stayed with my sister-in-law, who watched Aitch while Husband went to work.

I know it’s de rigeur to complain about one’s in-laws, and G-d knows I’ve been rather, uh, descriptive about my mother-in-law in this space, but I am sure the heavens would strike me dead if I ever complained about my other in-laws. This isn’t the first time Sister-in-Law #4 has taken Aitch for the day while Husband or I met clients in the New York area. She has four children of her own, plus a dog, so what’s one more creature in the house? She is a domestic goddess, and I’ll be grateful until my dying day.

The whole family has been incredibly supportive throughout the adoption and Aitch’s babyhood. They got together to throw us a huge baby shower, inviting my family and friends and putting us up (along with Dog!) for the weekend. One of my SILs is a caterer; she offered up her house for the party, and the food was incredible. This particular SIL also called in a bunch of favors from fellow wedding service providers when we got married, and arranged our invitations and flowers gratis. She also made our wedding cake and hand-carried on a plane all the way from New York to Chicago. We probably have the only wedding cake in history that was x-rayed by airport security.

Anyway, I was thrilled that Aitch got to spend the day with his four cousins, and even more thrilled that my own cousin was able to visit this weekend with her three children. I only had one sibling growing up, and all the cousins on my mother’s side lived on the other side of the state, but I had a wonderful time during holidays when were were able to visit. I realize now that Husband probably had that teeming-house experience every day of his life (maybe why he enjoys peace and quiet now?), but for me it was a rare treat. I like having a full house.

After seeing all the kids running around playing together, I even had some second thoughts about having a bigger family. That was before we dirtied an entire 13-place-settings worth of flatware in a single meal, though. I don’t know how these big families do it. They must share forks.