5. The Domestic Situation
Okay when my father got married he already knew that he wanted to have multiple wives so he brought a piece of land and built two houses on it and that worked for him until he added a fifth wife because until then my mother’s lived two to a house. So when he married for the fifth time he had to build a house for her and when he married for the sixth time she just doubled up like the others.
I don’t know how they felt or even how they feel about the situation but I knew when I married Roxanne that, that wasn’t going to be me.
So I borrowed a lesson from the Islamic religion, I built each of them a house. But I achieved this only after I’d met Lina, when I saw her I knew that I wanted to go back home to be close to my parents and my siblings and I knew she wouldn’t complain because it was close to home for her too.
The only thing was to convince Diana and Roxanne, which I did after much begging and pleading.
The move for me was quite easy because I was planning on starting a business but the thing which really convinced them to move was that we’d found jobs for them so they wouldn’t be this thing of them having to sit at home while they searched.
I brought a large piece of land from one of my dad’s friends and I built three small but adequate houses for my wives and there we lived.
When Jennifer joined our family she got my house and we started to build my quarters and as the years passed we added onto the houses until we had the houses we wanted.
Each house, except mine which has four bedrooms, consists of seven bedrooms and three bathrooms, a lounge and a kitchen. All the houses look exactly the same on the outside and the wife’s have free reign on what they look like on the interior.
I’m not exactly a millionaire but the Lord has blessed me and my business and because of it I’m able to support my family which is all that matters to me. The fact that I have so many siblings also has its advantages because all the work was done with our own hands so the cost of building our home was limited.
The one thing though that I always insist on is that we eat dinner as a family because sometimes it’s the only time we get to connect. Dinner is always served in the Dining Hall.
Oh my goodness when I walked in on him and saw that he was writing about the Dining Hall, I had to add my two cents. The Dining Hall is the best worst idea his ever had. It’s a good thing that during one point in our day we get to connect and he gets to see all of us but it’s a lot work.
The barn itself isn’t that big which is why he used it as his personal quarters as well while we were fixing up his house. It’s a one story building which he stripped bare, added tiles, repainted and furnished with counters and long dining table which can seat all of us and our extended family if we had to.
So the thing is that normally if I was cooking for just me and my kids than I’d have to prepare five meals and six if he was around. Now I have to make food for twenty one people and there’s a lot to keep in mind.
For example Sophie is allergic to nuts so you have to make sure that none of the dishes contain nuts. Luke hate’s potatoes and Hailey loves them so you have to find a balance. It’s the best idea he had because we get to be together and the worst because it’s so much work.
I hate the Dining Hall, I love being with John and the other wives and all our kids because sometimes I have to work irregular hours but I hate the Dining Hall. It is just some much work but I guess the rewards are pretty much worth it in the end.
Oh my gosh the Dining Hall, the best way to describe it is that it’s like eating at an all you can eat buffet, the food is lined up on one side and everyone pretty much helps themselves. But it’s a lot of work for us wives because after dinner everybody expects desert which is why Diana suggested that we rotate the making of desert so if today I make it tomorrow Jen will and she will prepare only the deserts while we make the other dishes. The worst part of the Dining Hall is the mess that’s left after everyone is done.
I guess Lina has it the worst because she is a stay at home mom, but unlike the others I love the Dining Hall whenever I’m there I feel safe and at home. I know it’s a lot of work but I just love being there with him and them and all our children around us. I don’t know it’s just a feeling of belonging.
And here I was thinking that I was some kind of a genius.