On paper, William and Evelyn Cummings may seem like a typical American family: met and married in Los Angeles, moved to Oklahoma City to help her parents care for her grandparents. When the Cummings arrived in Oklahoma, they had one son, a niece and nephew they had agreed to raise, and were pregnant with their daughter. However, along the way, the Cummings went from ordinary to extraordinary.
Within five years, the Cummings had added nine additional children to their family, and all of these children were actually extended members of the family – nieces, nephews and cousins. “It is really complicated to explain it all,” laughs Evelyn. “One of my sisters and her husband were in the military, so the kids stayed with us for a number of years…another sister actually lived here in Oklahoma City but worked two jobs so she saw her children, but they lived with us. The saddest situation was an aunt who called us to pick up the children of a cousin who was homeless. The four kids were waiting for us on a corner in northeast part of town…they were pretty young and in really bad shape.
My dad always taught us that we should take care of family, so we raised the kids that there wasn’t any ‘niece, nephew or cousin,’ we were just a family,” explains Evelyn.
At one point, the Cummings had a child in every grade in the Midwest City School District. The school superintendent didn’t believe that 13 children could be living in one house, so he paid a visit. “The kids were dressed and very wellmannered because we wouldn’t have it any other way,” explains William.
Even though the family was large, Evelyn and William always found time for each other. “Everything in our house closes down at nine o’clock. With so many children, we had to keep them on a very strict schedule. We have to spend time together…at nine o’clock our door shuts and that’s our time. The kids know not to bother us,” explains William. “It’s when we talk, reconnect, unwind…it’s important to our marriage and relationship.”
“We learned a long time ago to keep the TV out of the bedroom,” laughs Evelyn. “We actually started talking, and we’ve learned to communicate so much better through the years. He’s my best friend, and I know that he’ll listen and not judge me. He’ll always be there for me.”
The Cummings readily complement each other’s parenting abilities, “She puts everyone before herself and is a genuinely caring person,” says William about Evelyn. “William is a nurturing father…a wonderful father.” And, even though most of the ‘children’ are grown and scattered all over the country, they are required to come home at least once a year; after all – they are still a family.