“I might want two or three kids someday. But definitely not just one. No way. Only children are strange,” my co-worker said to me yesterday while we were waiting for our customers to wake up.
I softly cleared my throat and asked “are you referring to me?”
“Umm,” he replied. “Well, kinda. All the only children I know are just a bit off. You’re not as bad as the others…. but you can definitely tell you weren’t raised in a house full of kids.”
Well put.
I come from a long line of only children, and in some ways we had it a bit rougher than others. Growing up we weren’t able to blame anyone for our mistakes…for no scapegoats were in sight. There were no rambunctious kids for our parents to compare us to, so we tried to be perfect at all times. No siblings were available to watch and learn from as they messed up…..so we had to learn for ourselves. All of this leads to the “Only Child Syndrome”, as Evan calls it. This condition entails: believing that you effect those around you much more than you actually do, having difficulty understanding sarcasm, and feeling huge responsibility for everything and anything. So, yeah…I guess we’re a little off…in a crazy cool sorta way.
But being an only child isn’t all bad! It’s also a whole lot of fantastic. The experience nurtures a wild imagination and provides time to dream big. Growing up as the only kid in the house made me believe that I can save the day, in simple ways. Take this lemon blueberry cake, for example. When I pulled this beauty out of the oven I was certain that I could heal the whole world’s pain with it. You can forever change someone’s day or life….with just a bit of love.
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Instead of rhubarb, I added 1 cup of frozen blueberries. You could add more if you like!
All photos were taken by the wonderful, youngest child of three…. Evan Lentz.
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