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But my kids want to play team sports, and so every season, I find myself signing them up for baseball, basketball, soccer or some other crazy activity that I can’t even begin to understand. But then I started to realize that these times—the ones that my kids spent with other families—were times when other adults in my community really got to know my kids. I had made friends with these other adults over the two-hour baseball games, but they gotten to know my kids when they were listening to them prattle on in the backseat or making sure that they’d remembered all their gear for the game. After Claire’s game, I hurried to catch the end of Austin’s game, and arrived just in time to see them win.

Every once in a while, Heidi Hamm’s beautiful post, Mama, You Were Meant Because I was meant for twins, too. You were meant for twins, too. Mama, You Were Meant For Twins

That when you can’t seem to calm me, it’s only because you’re my safe space. That’s because I’ve never felt more secure. That’s because being held by you is all I’ve ever known. That one day it won’t be like this, so let’s cherish it while we can.

“Remember who you belong to” is the phrase I tell my teen every morning when she leaves for school, every time I drop her off somewhere and constantly through text throughout her daily travels. She has two sets of parents, five sets of grandparents, almost half a dozen younger siblings and an array of additional family members and close family friends who have become family to call her own. “Remember who you belong to” means don’t forget that you have this litter of younger siblings who are watching your every move. Now I won’t lie, “remember who you belong to” is also a not so subtle way to remind her that we are always watching and that her behaviors reflect our parenting.