Chapter one...

Sticky fingers reaching for my face and snot dripping kisses running down my cheek. By the time number seven came around germs were antiquity in mom's book. I don't remember it but I've heard the story enough to know that I came into this world with six little smiling faces waiting for me. I've seen that picture of all seven of us piled on mom laying in the hospital bed the day I was born. So even though I was only hours old, I feel like I can remember the details of Amber's pink sweater with neon lime trim and Kelly's butchered bangs that she trimmed herself, while Micheal posed as a tough guy but mom said he cried more than anyone that day.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to come to earth and be born into this family. And if somebody had warned me then I would likely still be sitting in heaven strumming my fingers. But God must have known that they needed me.
For a long time I worried about being the seventh wheel on the Tyrell P34, three boys and three girls, and then me, the extra girl who threw things out of balance. As I grew up Hank would sometimes tell me that I counted as both because I could hang with both sides, like a wild card in a full house.
I was always there and never there. Always there because I had nowhere else to go. I went to every game and recital. It seemed like I had permanent imprints on my legs from the little wire seat in the front of the grocery cart. I went everywhere with mom, running errands, folding laundry and giving rides. But on the other hand I was never there, there was so much going on that life went on the same whether I was there or not. With a family of nine, it was already too much to split the the time pie into eight pieces, let alone nine, so I was usually sharing a bite with somebody else.
You might be surprised at the wealth of knowledge that the little fly on the wall can really take in. But it's a limited perspective you know, it's all about watch and learn rather than live and learn. I don't know which is the better way, but I sure feel like I learned my fair share.