Submitted by John Jay Daly of Chevy Chase, MD, Jan 5, 2007 05:54

As the father of eight -- all girls except for the four boys --- now ranging in age from 35 to 53, I was pleased to read (finally) some positive words about the benefits of a large family. Yes, in the early years it may be a bit chaotic, and it never was easy to fund all their needs, BUT the ultimate result seems to be more than merely satisfactory. Each child -- even our 44 year old twins -- is different so attention must be paid to those differences. In retrospect, looking back on what my late wife Lu* and I have done, is our proudest accomplishment, even tho both of us have had long careers.

Yes, it's no easy raising a big family, but, ultimately it's worth the regular sacrifices that are made on a daily basis.

*Sadly, she died a few years ago after an unsuccessful decade-long battle with Alzheimer's.

Readers who may want to check up on our family doings -- via "the only Daly paper published annually" -- can read a magazine article about that publication by visiting www.johnjaydaly.com and clicking on the box with that paper's name "The Daly Greeting."

John Jay Daly of Chevy Chase, MD (a suburb of Washington DC that is as child-friendly as SI).

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