Stahlke Adoption

When the kids first came, I often drove multiple children to appointments. Initially, Paul or Adam would automatically take the front passenger seat, and they had the size and strength to deter the other children from the place of honor. To set the record straight, the front seat was not favorable because of me--the radio took that honor.

The feminist in me resented the girls' exclusion from the front seat. (David was too young to legally sit there.) For a while, I rotated the children trip by trip, but that plan proved impossibly complicated because the car trips never included all the kids.

For several years now, we work on a strict system of seniority. Car seating, bath order, choosing chores, "Pick 3" (see post on 7/16/07), and many other tasks automatically go in age order. Practicality trumps fairness, and Mom and Dad keep their sanity.