I love large families, and as far as bigger families go mine is pretty decently sized.

I am one of five children in my family and I have roughly twenty first-cousins. Needless to say family gatherings are crowded, loud, and a lot of fun. Being in a large family has a set of unspoken rules, I believe, and although I am far from being a pro at dealing with my family, here are some things that I have picked up over the years:

1. What is yours isn't yours and what is mine....well it really isn't mine either

Sharing is caring right? In a large family I learned that there really isn't "my stuff" versus anyone else's stuff. Everyone plays with everything and the all around rule is that if it isn't being guarded, hidden, or played with it is fair game.

2. Everyone plays or nobody plays

I think this is a popular rule in any family, but it was especially implemented in mine. Everyone has that one tattletale in their family (you know who you are) that would always make sure this rule was in place at all times.

3. Learn to have thick skin

You will be brutally picked on all of your life. Deal with it. Your family only picks on you out of love and with a large rambunctious family such as mine, it tends to happen quite a lot. If you are going to learn to survive, learn to either take it or give it right back. (But its often more fun if you give it back)

4. Only the strong will survive

This goes along with rule three, but is more of a physical aspect. If you have older cousins you know exactly what I am talking about. You will be chased, tickled, sat on and tackled endlessly. However, this friendly childhood banter made a lot of boring afternoons more interesting and a lot of my best memories with my cousins include one of us being tormented in some aspect along the way.

5. Your relatives will gang up on you

Often when your parents are trying to reason with you its just you and them and sometimes you can hold your own, not the case around family. Parents will look for support that your relatives are all too happy to provide, and then before you know it its six on one and the only hope you have left is that eventually they will lose interest.

6. Your personal life is not so personal...

My mother always loved telling my relatives about what was going on in our personal lives and then my relatives wanted to know everything. Eventually, you learn to tell them enough to keep the wolves at bay.

7. Take what you can eat...and then some

At family gatherings, food goes quickly and you need to take what you can get when you can get it. I learned that if it looks good, take it because you might not have the option later on. With older guy cousins and uncles, you never know what food will be left after they sweep through. So if you want it, grab it on your first round.

There are other rules that I'm sure large families have picked up throughout these years, but these are just some that I have learned personally.

All in all, my family is chaotic, loud, messy, and crazy. I love each and everyone of my family members dearly though and I wouldn't trade my large family for the world.

Large families make for awesome family gatherings and too many cherish-able memories to count. They can seem overwhelming at times, but you learn to join the crazy and have an amazing time.