People all over the world have just celebrated mother’s day. It is a day when we show appreciation for everything that our mothers have done for us. There are times when they see almost superhuman in their efforts as matriarchs. This can be said of all moms, but is especially true for Lyette Reback of North Palm Beach Florida. This mother has been raising 16 children that range from 2 years old to 23 years of age.
According to Reback, raising that many children has made it hard to keep track of all of them. She also admits that she gets the names confused at times. But she keeps everything in check and runs a household respite raising 16 children. She starts every day with a to-do list. She says that everything she does is based on the list, and if it doesn’t get on the list, it won’t get done. She home schools each of the children and each of them participate in a total of 88 sports practices each week. Reback has a little bit of help here, since their father, David, is also the coach.
To raise these many children, the family needs more than just the ordinary soccer mom van. They have their own family bus. They also need the bus to carry around all their children’s things. The laundry alone is daunting. According to Reback, there are 42 loads of laundry each week. Thankfully, each of the kids are expected to do their part in chores. Aside from laundry, the kids also help out with preparing meals and cleaning up the house. Despite the hardships, Reback says that this has always been her dream.
“I always wanted a big family,” she said. “I’ve just been fortunate enough to have an amazing husband [who] wants to do life big and crazy with me… We’ve been blessed every time.”