Just Another Part of the Hardy Party

From oldest to youngest

Growing up in a big family actually sucks….said no one ever. Lies, I am sure someone somewhere hated their experience growing up in a big family but not this girl. Sure, there were times where you could swear we were in a WWE match up but there were also times where we had an entire kickball team made up entirely of siblings. Overall, there were so many more pros to growing up in a big family than there were cons and I am excited to share with you what growing up in a big family taught me.

There is so much I learned from growing up in a big family and I wouldn't trade those experiences for the world. I learned what it means to share, to lead, to follow, to be open, social, outgoing, and what it means to also be independent. Although I always had someone to depend on my siblings taught me what it meant to be independent, not just another Hardy in the world, my siblings made me ready for the world.

18 Struggles I Would Never Take Back

My siblings taught me how to work for the things I want in life. Life isn't easy growing up in a big family, it is full of hand me downs and at times living in your siblings shadows. But, in the end those moments are totally worth it. Because I never grew up with the ability to receive hand outs (not knocking those who have) I learned early on what it meant to work hard for the things I want in this life and I developed a fierce appreciation for the things I was able to acquire.

My siblings taught me how to be a leader. At times you are constantly living in your siblings shadows. "Hardy, are you so and  so? YES, yes I am." You learn to torch your own paths while learning from your sibling's footsteps. More importantly my siblings taught me how to be a team player. Growing up in a large family you learn very quickly what it means to compromise. Things don't/can't always go your way and every person has a unique skill to bring to the table. My siblings taught me how to embrace skills from others and encourage their leadership outside of my own.

All six of us have very different personalities and learning to adjust to each personality taught us life lessons we will forever appreciate. You encounter so many different types of people in the world and sometimes that is a hard adjustment to make. Growing up with a mini melting pot of my own taught me how to be open, social, welcoming, and accepting of the differences each person brought to the table. I can't preach enough on how this skill helped me with my first two absolutely evil college roommates.

The Sibling Effects We All Know To Be True

My siblings taught me what it means to be vulnerable yet strong. I can't imagine the issues my parent's dealt with on a daily basis growing up. They had six very different personalities each bringing their own drama and looking back there were a lot of times where we had to deal with our own issues. Our parents were very good at picking their battles, they knew when to step in and when to let us learn on our own. From the times they stepped back they taught us how to work out our problems with each other developing crucial communication skills, and they taught us how to be strong even when we felt our worlds were "falling apart".

Oddly, my siblings taught me how to be okay alone. Growing up with a lot of siblings you often times struggle to find yourself in alone time. Nothing is ever quiet, and you are never alone. Growing up I never knew what it meant to appreciate the silence and although I fully appreciate the noise I now understand the beauty that is moments of silence. This oddly also increased a drive for me to move far away on my own. I adore my siblings but growing up without the experience of ever being alone increased a drive for me to embark on adventures where I found myself the most vulnerable and I love that they taught me that.

And one of the most important lessons my siblings taught me was to never give up. One of the best things about being on the younger end of the sibling spectrum is that I got to learn from my siblings mistakes and their successes. I have loved nothing more than watching them continuously pursue and succeed at their dreams. The road hasn't been easy for any of us but watching them spring forth with resilience has taught me the true definition of never give up.

There are so many other things my siblings taught me and these are just a few. From never falling short of having someone to play with to growing older and having someone to laugh with my siblings taught me overall that growing up in a big family is hands down the best thing ever.

Pohler Express - The quick story of me!

            

So it all began back in 1976 when I was the first born child of my biologicals; this would change several times over the course of my life stay tuned for that episode. I was basically hijacked by my grandparents by the time I was 4 and they raised me from then on. I was legally adopted or at least attempted to be adopted at age 9 but it was not completed until I was almost 14 because that would be too easy. My mom (grandmother) had a severe stroke just before I turned 15 and for the next four years I would be her primary caretaker. I attended a vocational high school so I was on the bus by 6:30 for my hour long bus ride and then after school I came home to take care of her and for a short period of time work a part time job as well. I graduated from high school as the senior class president and lived a fairly normal life for about the next year.

 My mom passed away not even a year after she watched me graduate. She had over 80 strokes over the course of those four years. I was quick to identify a stroke and learned how to balance being a teenager and her caretaker pretty well. Some people have asked me if I feel like I was robbed of my teen years etc. but I really don't. She took care of me when nobody else was and I learned from her that we do what we have to do to take care of the people we love. I also learned from her that family is about more than blood, it's about bonds and love. I had a rough two years after mom died. I was trying to figure out where I belonged in my family and in the world.  



 I started my first real job in April of 1997 and that is where my next chapter begins. I began working as a receptionist for a small medical equipment company. I had a really nice boyfriend who I had grown up with and life seemed complete for the time being. Then one day I was sitting at my desk looking out into the parking lot when a grey pickup truck with big tires pulled up. This guy jumps out with his leather jacket and dark hair. He removed his leather jacket and I could see his fresh new tattoo. He then preceded to replace his leather jacket with a uniform jacket for the medical equipment company I worked for. I often say it was the just like in the cheesy romantic comedies. I felt like I had stars in my eyes and found out what love at first sight was like. I broke things off shortly thereafter with my long time friend and current boyfriend so that I could pursue what was sure to be a whirlwind romance. It was just that; by June we were connected at the hip and couldn't be separated. I moved in with him after I was in a car accident and my car was totaled and we were going to work together. It wasn't long before our little family of three (he already had a daughter from a prior marriage, truth be told I fell in love with her first.) became a family of four. Everything was moving so quickly we could barely keep up and enjoy the moments. Before we knew it we were a family of five and we bought a home.

My prince charming had a castle full of little princesses and he was content with everything we had built together. There was just one thing I was missing and that was that we had never gotten married although we had been engaged for quite some time and talked about if for years. 

Then one day just as we had gotten used to the idea that our little girls were all becoming young ladies we were shocked to find out we were once again expanding. Family of five became family of six. With the news of the addition on the way we decided it was just time to make everything official and we got married in a private ceremony.

Shortly after our nuptials we found out that this time we were having a little prince and our kingdom became complete. 

Almost 20 years after I first met him and I still get stars in my eyes. I work two jobs and go to school while he builds a business to support our future and we do it all for our little kingdom. 

"All because two people fell in love"