The Good and the bad.
A translation by Judith Turcotte.
Being part of a large family has its advantages and disadvantages. We learn very young how to live in a community with both its good and bad sides. My parents did not have the choice of establishing a routine that we had to adhere to: meals were always at the same hour with the same menu for everyone; no exception. Bath time was set by my mother; there was only one bath in the house.
We were assigned domestic chores. I was the eldest and there is a difference of fourteen years between my youngest brother and myself. I, therefore, learnt how to change a diaper and bottle-feed. My mother liked to recount that in the evening after supper I would sit with my younger brother on my knees and give him the bottle while studying. Married, when I had my first child, my wife, an only child, was relieved to see that I had experience with babies. The following photo shows me and my two brothers getting ready for bed. I don’t remember the reason for the staging.
We were three boys sleeping in one of the bedrooms on the second floor; the two girls shared the other bedroom. The baby had his own bedroom on the main floor, next to my parents’ room. I only had my own bedroom one year in my life in residence in my last year at university. When I came home, I returned to my room that I had shared with my brothers. This arrangement lasted a year before I got married. Again, I shared a room, but also a bed with benefits.
We were therefore eight living in a small house on Oak Avenue. At night, my father prepared supper and we had to be seated at the table exactly at six p.m. The meals didn’t change much. Different pasta always with my mother’s sauce, shepherd’s pie, of course, with ketchup, and occasionally ground beef and pork sausages. For dessert, Jello in a variety of flavors was a regular and once in a while mixed with Del Monte canned fruit. I am not criticizing my parents; imagine having to prepare a supper for eight people every night of the week. And what about the grocery bill!