Being the mom of five sons, ranging in ages from 11-4 years old isn’t always easy, but Lake Orion resident Faith Dooty said the rewards are great.
Dooty and her husband Gary, a systems designer and tester for EDS, have lived in Lake Orion for nearly 17 years and have five sons: Glen, 11, now a student at Waldon Middle School; Alan, 10; Sean, 9; Kevin, 6; and Aaron, 4.
Dooty, a former high school teacher, is also one of the founders of the MOMS (Ministry of Mothers Sharing) group at Christ the Redeemer Church. She said the group began as a small gathering of 8-12 women about 10 years ago, and has grown to currently three groups with nearly 20 women in each.
‘I’m from Redford and my husband is from Detroit. We moved here to be in the country, and the city followed us,? Dooty said. ‘When I first joined (MOMS), I had one child and one on the way. It was hard to adjust to being at home…(MOMS) was very good for dealing with that.?
Dooty was a high school teacher, and has also worked in advertising. Also a writer, she does freelance work from home and also works part-time as a bookkeeper from home.
Dooty said raising five young boys, especially when three of them were in diapers at the same time, has been a challenge.
‘It’s wild at times,? she added. ‘When they were little someone needed something all the time.?
As they have gotten older, the boys have also started to get more physical.
‘For me, that’s different…we deal with it as best we can,? she said. ‘I have two brothers and a sister, and my husband also comes from a family of two boys and two girls…After we had our first two boys, we assumed the third one would be a girl.
‘We’re happy,? Dooty said. ‘The first three were very close together…after the third, it left us reeling for a while.?
Outings to church and other public places have made the family something of minor celebrities, Dooty said.
‘People do double takes and ask questions,? she said. ‘We went to Disney World and I bought them all matching shirts, I was so afraid to lose one of them…We were like one of the attractions.?
Although they’ve each had distinctive personalities since they were babies, the boys are good buddies, deep down, Dooty said.
?(When they fight), my husband and I have to go back to our childhoods, and say ‘Remember this?? Our four-year-old and six-year-old are best buddies, like the older boys used to be.?
Watching their personalities develop has been fun, as is watching them play.
‘I just really enjoy learning from my kids,? she said. ‘Sometimes I’m thinking they teach me as much, or more, then I could ever teach them. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from them.?
Dooty marvels at their creativity, with her oldest son liking to write and her second son being artistic.
‘I keep a journal so I can remember the funny things they do, the good things,? she said. ‘I love watching them play outside, we have a big yard; that’s why we moved here. We never knew we’d fill it with boys.?
Dooty recalled one time when her sons and some neighborhood children began an ‘archaeological dig? of sorts in the Dooty’s back yard.
‘They are always looking for fossils,? she said. ‘That day they had a bunch of kids over, and they ended up doing this big archaeological dig in the back yard. It must have been a possum graveyard…they found all these bones, and the kids were all dividing up the bones.
‘It just cracks me up. Sometimes it’s like watching cavemen roam the earth.?
With her youngest son now in preschool, Dooty is finding more time for herself and to write, most of which she does in the evening hours.
‘We love to go camping, so we like to keep our weekends free for the kids,? she said. ‘I also like to read.?