My parents came from large families, particularly my dad. I have many first cousins. We all grew up with the notion, large families were a blessing, and were always proud at the size of ours.
No one had to wait long for grandchildren. That's rarely the case any more. I'm sure you won't either, TC.
Some of my grandparents came from large families. Mom’s father was one of 13, on a Northern Ireland farm not much bigger than my suburban house lot, and Dad’s mother was one of five, so they each had many cousins. Numbers had dwindled until my family unexpectedly grew, though!
My oldest daughter is 20 and embarked on a Coast Guard career, with several more years committed. However, I don’t think yon Tom, #3, the teenage sushi chef, will want to get past his mid-20s without children. He’s been crazy about babies since he was a preschooler himself. (Brilliant boy, can be a successful lawyer or politician to support a large family, plus reptiles ;-).
I’m not too anxious about grandchildren, since I’m still having babies myself. Several of my friends over the years have had children after grandchildren were born, just like the Hatfields and the McCoys. “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth; happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! He shall not be put to shame when he confronts his enemies in the gate.”
We have a picture of my great-grandfather (dad’s dad’s dad, gave us my Bill’s middle name) with his 7 brothers, a couple of sisters, and his old mother, most of them holding rifles. If we go back to frontier conditions here, I’ll have my private army, too!