Husband and Wife.
Man and Woman.
The ideal start to a family.
Then comes Husband, Wife, and Child. Usually one or two or maybe three of four children these days. But back in the day many children were common.
A particular woman and the man were married happily and willingly started a family. Things were bumpy at first, of course. The husband had to go to war, he was in the navy. He was sent home, eventually, though, safe and unharmed. Grateful to be back home with his wife, he was eager to get on with his family.
The woman was small, weighing in at only ninety pounds. So small, that a doctor told her that there was no way that she could have children. But the woman was stubborn and wasn’t one to be pushed around.

The two had their first child.

Then, they had another… and another… and another.

They ended up with eighteen children total. Four of the babies didn’t make it at birth, so that left them with fourteen living children.

The family had a relatively easy life and everyone was happy.


Ten years flew by; they got their first dog. The dog ran away within the week. Twenty years; they moved to a town two hours south of their home. Half of the kids were grown up now and stayed in their hometown. Thirty years flew by; unexpectedly one of the sons died in an accident. This left the family with thirteen children and two parents.

The girls met boys and married. The boys met girls and married.

One daughter, the most beautiful and the youngest—and she was young, almost ten years younger than the second youngest—and the father’s particular favorite, managed to stay with the parents the longest. She had to stay home, she insisted. But like all beautiful, modest girls, a man swept her off her feet before she could realize what was happening. And before she knew it, she was engaged to be married.

The night of their wedding, after the ceremony and the party, the four stood at the foot of the driveway of her parents’ house. The mother and the father were smiling and teary-eyed. The girl wept and her husband stood steadfast by her side.

The girl’s father, who usually was quiet and kept to himself, suddenly stepped forward, placing a large, warm, comforting hand on her small shoulder. He spoke to her in a soft voice and persuaded her to leave… to finally go have a life of her own.

Of all the things the girl did for her parents, and all the things she thought was best, the best thing she ever did for herself and for her parents was letting them go.