Triplet Awe

We took the kids to the zoo yesterday.

Once again, they received more attention than any of the animals in the whole place.

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of attention we generate - each and every time we step foot out of the house with all of our kids.

I've become extremely accustomed to people stopping what they are doing and (sometimes literally) running over to see our children. And since I'm a ham for attention, I have no problem with the stir we cause.

Usually, it's a lot of fun.

Me by myself - plain Jane.

Me with babies - instant celebrity.

Me with fellow triplet mom's and all of our babies - evening news worthy.

It didn't dawn on me just how much attention we attract, until I went to the store with one baby. For the first time, I "blended" with the general population and it was an odd sensation. Rather than appreciating the anonymity, I was surprised that at the first opportunity I had to talk with someone and they would comment on my "beautiful baby" I couldn't stop myself from quipping "They're a TRIPLET! I have two more babies at home that are just as beautiful!"

I love being out by myself and seeing a new mother with her baby. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll drop the *triplet bomb*. It's great entertainment to watch a new mother's face turn 20 different shades of color and then say "Sweet God in heaven ... I don't know what I'd do with THREE babies."

What's even more fun is when I see someone that has twins. Usually I'll comment "Aren't they adorable! How old are your babies?" and the parent, who is asked about their multiples all the time gives some canned response. Unable to contain myself (really, I've tried), I'll casually mention ... "I have toddler triplets."

And then I savor the triplet awe.

This makes me extremely obnoxious. I know.

What wasn't much fun is the time I was out for a walk around the neighborhood with all three babies (I think I've mentioned this encounter before) and a woman banked a u-turn in her Suburban and inquired if our babies were triplets. When I proudly exclaimed "YES!" she rolled down her tinted windows and introduced me to her QUADRUPLETS.

I've decided it's a lot of fun to trump. It's not a lot of fun being trumped.

Especially when she added "Triplets would be easy!"

Aw, shut-up.

I told her that quads wouldn't really be that much harder, because I'm already outnumbered. Charlie looked at me like I was an absolute fool. "Are you kidding me, woman? You don't think one more baby would be that much harder?! Where have you been for the past 22-months?!"

I love having triplets. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. If we had quads, we could never fit all four of them in the front seat of the grocery cart at Costco. And, "Amazing Quads" isn't nearly as good of a blog title as "Amazing Trips." At least not in my opinion.

We never refer to our children as "triplets" except for when we are talking to absolute strangers. Being the parent of triplets is such an honor and a great conversation piece. It helps to always have pictures available of all three babies together, because 9 out of 10 times, people don't believe that you have triplets until you can flash a picture and say "Here's the proof."

My favorite picture to flash is our Santa photo.

When we are out with all three kids, we've heard just about every comment imaginable and most of them are wonderful.

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! You have been richly blessed!"

Response: Yes we have!

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! You have such a beautiful family!"

Response: We couldn't agree more!

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! You look fantastic!" (This is one of my favorites...)

Response: Uh, you wouldn't say that if you saw me in a bathing suit!

Of course we also get:

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! You must be exhausted!"

Response: No way, we are energized. Our babies have been sleeping through the night since they were 4-months old.

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! Do you have any other children?!"

Response: Not yet!

Comment: "Wow - are those TRIPLETS?! What kind of help do you have?!"

Response: Well, unless you count a dog that licks the floor after every meal, it's just me and my husband!

Sometimes, the "triplet awe" can attract negative attention. Usually the naysayers will comment:

"Triplets? *Scoff* Better you than me!"

"Triplets? *Scoff* I think I'd hang myself."

"Triplets? *Scoff* I'm sorry."

Depending upon where I am - and what I'm doing at the moment (i.e. dealing with three children that are in the midst of a temper tantrum, hence prompting the negative comment in the first place) I'll usually respond, "Not every one is lucky enough to have triplets. Now that I have them - I couldn't imagine my life without them."

It's the honest truth.

I don't know how we got so lucky and even though they are our children ... we undoubtedly stand in awe of them the most.