When ordinary becomes extraordinary

By Patrice Lewis

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

If you want inspiration for the New Year, look no further than the Maillis family. Young William Maillis was 9 years old when he became one of the youngest people ever to graduate from high school and start college. (He’s now 10.) His hope is to become an astrophysicist. His goal? “I want to prove that God does exist.”

Reading about the absolute normalcy of the Maillis family warms the cockles of one’s heart. William was a late-in-life “surprise” baby. (His siblings are already in their late 20s.) His parents are loving and close-knit, and strive to have their genius son live as ordinary and grounded a life as possible.

I like reading about people like the Maillis family. I’m delighted they’re simultaneously cultivating their son’s gifts while not pushing him. But let’s face it, most of us aren’t geniuses, nor do we have genius children.

So for a different type of inspiration, consider the Fatzinger family. Parents of 13 – yes, 13 – children, they nonetheless live frugal lives and have never been in debt except for their mortgage (now paid off). They’ve never had car loans, student loans or credit card debt. They have an emergency account and a retirement account. Their (homeschooled) children were encouraged to start saving early for college; so far the college-age kids have never taken out a student loan.

The father’s salary began modestly and has risen over the years. Together with miscellaneous odd jobs both parents do, the family’s income currently tops out at $110,000.

Now, I don’t know anything about these people except what was reported in this article. I didn’t contact them for an interview; I didn’t do any additional research on them. But I find them inspiring.

Beyond the unusual number of children, what’s so extraordinary about them? Nothing. They are completely, beautifully normal. Or at least, normal by, um, maybe 1950s standards or something.

What I mean is, they’re a large, modest, close-knit, fiscally responsible family who lives well within their means, but are richly blessed with love and enjoyment of life. They represent the way many people used to live. They exemplify something very important: the quiet, ordinary families who make up the backbone of America. And folks, if that doesn’t inspire you in the New Year, nothing will.

The news is too full of examples of dysfunctional families, out-of-control kids, teenage thugs and endless ills of society. Once in a while it’s good to stop and admire those people who don’t make the news.

Where I live, large families are not unusual. We have many devout Catholic, Mormon and “full quiver” families whose children often can be counted on two and sometimes three hands. The nice thing about large families is by the time the sixth or seventh or eighth kid comes along, the parents are usually experts on child-raising. They no longer have to figure things out as they go. They know how to keep order, when to be lenient, and when to be strict. The parents are generally calm, patient and disciplined.

And large families, almost to a T, consist of wonderful kids. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a child from a large family who was rude or inconsiderate or disrespectful or spoiled. With so many people in one house, children grow up learning to share, minimize squabbles, help each other and otherwise get along. Since space is limited, kids share rooms, toys and time with siblings, which creates close-knit bonds.

And the thing is, no one knows about these families outside their circles. Their kids don’t make the evening news. They don’t riot in the streets, vandalize businesses, or cause heartache for their parents. They simply live quiet, unassuming lives and grow up into fine young people who work hard, stay moral and in time marry and raise their own amazing families.

It’s not just large families, of course. It’s anyone who takes the time to keep their kids from becoming entitled brats.

“I am an academic adviser for freshmen at a small university in the Midwest,” writes one person, “and my favorite students by far are the veterans and the kids from small family farms. They have already known a full day’s work, and they gravitate towards practical, steady degrees. These students will make it; the others, I worry about.”

As our schools and colleges degenerate into little more than snowflake factories which churn out uneducated child-adults with degrees in entitlement, hate and disunity, I’m thankful and inspired by the millions of wholesome, decent young people who simply go through life being responsible and hard-working.

But they’re not the ones making the evening news. Snowflakes are.

My brother once observed, with a touch of weariness, “If you spend your whole life doing the right thing, you don’t get any credit for it. You can be responsible, save money, work your way through college, not be in debt, not have kids out of wedlock, keep up with your mortgage payments … no matter what you do, you don’t get any credit for it. But let someone mess up, and they’re showered with all the things I had to work hard for my whole life.”

I wrote a book a few years ago called “The Simplicity Primer,” the premise of which is, well, simple. All it takes to live a good life can be summarized in three words: Make good choices.

Through life, we all face difficulties and challenges. No one is immune to illness, accidents, injuries, natural disasters, politics, or other factors out of our control. But what about those things within your control? What if you just … made good choices?

If you choose to marry and divorce four times, have three kids out of wedlock, acquire too much debt, refuse to pay your bills … then your life will be very complicated. But if you choose to marry a good person, stay married, work hard, live within your means, and otherwise be a sensible and responsible person … then your life will be simpler even when faced with difficulties and challenges.

The families featured above are just the sum of their good choices through life. In today’s decadent entitled society where doing the wrong thing is rewarded again and again, loving and responsible families are unusual enough to feature in the news.

Remember 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. Choose wisely. And happy New Year.

Learn how to achieve a simple lifestyle without “going green” or joining a monastery. Read Patrice Lewis’ helpful book, “The Simplicity Primer: 365 Ideas for Making Life more Livable”

Media wishing to interview Patrice Lewis, please contact [email protected].

Patrice Lewis

Patrice Lewis is a WND editor and weekly columnist, and the author of "The Simplicity Primer: 365 Ideas for Making Life more Livable." Visit her blog at www.rural-revolution.com. Read more of Patrice Lewis's articles here.


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