that's reality, sweetheart.

I used to haaaaaaate the Duggars.  You know who I'm talking about, right?  The good old fashioned, wholesome family featured on the reality show, 19 Kids and Counting on TLC?  The sight of them used to make my skin crawl and my mood fowl.  I thought it was sick, twisted, and disgusting that they breed the way they do.  At first it was like the perpetual trainwreck that I could not turn away from, but I have to admit...I enjoy watching the show.  It's the family I love to hate...and love.  Many of the things they do still annoy me but I must say, I've learned a thing or two from mama Michelle. 

What I dislike and/or disagree with:
 - Overpopulation (really...what if we ALL had 19+ kids!?)
 - Making the older kids raise the younger kids...so much for being a teenager!
 - Not kissing until your married...really?  Who does that?  I can understand the moral argument or desire to be abstinent from sex prior to marriage, but what if this mate has rancid breath?  Totally intolerable, rancid breath.  Deal-breaker!! Hello!?!?
 - Stating in your vows that you will let the Lord determine the number and timing of your children (trust me, if said Lord had anything to do with choosing the families that are able to recreate over and over and over and over, I wouldn't have a job.  Hmm...maybe he gives the guy with the high sperm count the rancid breath...that might work).
 - Never allowing your children (or exposing them to the opportunity) to meet people that are not like them.
 - The whole courtship thing - they don't date, they mate.  They literally choose a person and then "court" them with the intention to marry them right off the bat.  I get not wasting your time but is it really a sin to explore the options?  Hell, you aren't going to kiss them so what are you risking?
- Their house is a compound, complete with a cafeteria-style kitchen and laundromat.  I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's definitely not homey. Oh, and all of the kids have to keep the whole house clean.  I don't think I ever see Michelle cleaning.  Probably hard to though, when there's always a baby on your boob.  Or in your belly.  Or both.
- Did I just hear that they are looking forward to having more children?  After their latest, Baby Josie, almost died?  Michelle, you can't hold them in past 24 weeks anymore...it's still unknown if Josie will have lifelong health problems as a result of her extreme prematurity.  That vagina needs to be closed for business. 

What I agree with and/or admire:
 - They have NO debt.  None. 
 - Those kids are the most well-behaved kids I've ever seen.
 - It doesn't seem like being on TV for so many years has changed them or compromised what they value.
 - The entire family has a positive attitude about everything.  All the time. 
 - Mom and Dad Duggar are madly in love with each other, and the kids know it because they show it.
 - The parents teach their children to carefully consider their reactions to situations that are out of their control.  This one is my favorite, so I'm going to go off on a tangent now.  Consider yourself forewarned. 

For example, what good does screaming at a vehicle that cut you off do?  It might make you feel better, but it makes everyone else in the car feel tense.  Is it necessary to do that in front of your child?  I think not.  What does that teach them about dealing with life when it doesn't go their way?  Throw a tantrum.  (Forget the fact that people are absolutely loony and will not hesitate to bust a cap in your tailpipe).

Think about how often we overreact to the most insignificant things.  I'm as guilty as anyone else, but I'm trying to work on it.  I don't want my kid to think I'm going to blow up if he screws up during his soccer game or spills kool-aid on the couch (bad example, he will not have kool-aid on the couch under my watch.  Ever).  I don't want my mood or my reaction to make people (especially my family) afraid to approach me with unfortunate news.  I strive to be more understanding.  More patient.  More accepting. 

One episode of 19 Kids and Counting in particular got me thinking about all of this.  There had been an ice storm and the weight of the ice caused lots of limbs to fall off of a large tree and create a huge mess in the Duggar yard.  I remember the endlessly cheesy dad, Jim Bob Duggar, saying something along the lines that he could get really upset about how inconvenient it was to have to clean it up, but instead he chose to be thankful that they had the equipment and the ability to clean it up and that the tree didn't fall on their home or injure anyone.  Hmm...good point.  I think at my house, we would have just complained.

Enough about the Duggars.  Here's some comic relief after all that seriousness.  Whew.

Have a good weekend,

~C~