Reproducing and adoption Samoan style

I've been absolutely rubbish at updating my blog. I'm really disappointed in myself for it. So I hope to improve though do not hold your breathe. So happy news in the family my sister is pregnant with their second child, my brother's fiance is carrying their third child(he has three from a previous marriage) and then everyone looked at me to be the bearer of the 26th grandchild to my mother: and I said considering the way the others are reproducing I'm sure someone else will will cover that number. Sure enough one of my sister-in-laws is carrying their fifth child(this same brother has other kids from previous relationships) so I think my family has far exceeded the kids quota though I do want another child. What I don't understand is how people who struggle manage to just keep having babies when they can barely afford to send the other kids to school. Funny thing is I heard my Mom tell my sister-in-law and brother last time we were in Samoa to consider family planning and focus on giving the current live kids the best education and everything and they both agreed and said of course they're not having anymore kids. Well good luck, 3 months later they're pregnant!! I thought it was hilarious when I heard the news. Though the poor sods weren't laughing when they found out.. but nevermind, in Samoa every child is wanted and will be looked after by someone or other. Of course in this case my brother and his wife are doing the looking after of the soon-to-be five kids!!! with all our help of course, because it takes a village/extended family to raise a child.
Which reminds me, when we were in Samoa and stayed in the village for my hubby's tattoo, every family in the neighbourhood had a kid that was someone else's that the grandma, aunties/uncles were raising. The house behind us had an 17 year old boy that lived with his grandma. The grandma proudly told me that his eldest son 'gave' her his eldest son to be her baby and companion. I didn't get that! I asked the others about it and they said at first the kids parents were both working in Pago and had no one to look after their first born so they brought the baby to grandma to look after till they settled. However they now have six more kids and decided back then that the eldest is best to stay on his his nana!!! The boy seemed well-rounded and normal. A good looking boy too. I wondered about this set-up for days, if the couple ever missed their eldest son or wanted him back or questioned their decision? I don't know and would never know. But the said boy is now a young man and will soon have a family of his own!
In the house we were staying at there was a similar case though the boy that was living there was the only son of the couple that left him! Apparently he was left there too because the parents travelled alot for their work but when they came to take the boy back he didn't want to go. So they took him anyway but apparently the boy would not settle with them as he wanted to come back to his nana that raised him. The kid is now 19 and lives happily with his nana, uncle/aunty and their kids. The story goes that one week in his final year at school, he got up as if going to school and headed up to the plantation and came back with crops and things for dinner that day. At the end of the week when his uncle asked why he was doing that and he said "school is not for me, I want to work to look after the family." So they tried to talk some sense into him but the boy had made his decision and he wasn't budging. When we were there this kid was the backbone of the family as in he looked after the family plantation and worked the land for their food. And if ever I needed some coconuts of papayas this kid would deliver by the end of the day! During our time there I noticed he was an honest, hard working and very relaxed kid. He was pleasant to be around and a very calm soul at that. I think he'd make a great chief one day, but in the meantime he's working his way there.