Jon & Kate...Forget The 8 For Now

To be quite honest, I like "Jon & Kate Plus 8"........that show on TLC about the couple who had twins via IUF and then were crazy enough to do it again and ended up with sextuplets (that's how they get the 8). I've seen most episodes at least 3 or 4 times and it was a favorite of mine while I was on maternity leave with both of my babies. I think it made me feel better just to watch the insanity in that household and know that someone else out there had to be more stressed out than I was at that time. I mean seriously…I was taking care of, at most, 2 kids/babies…they had 8………8………….8……………….WHOA! Did you see the episode where they took the kids on one of their many vacations and Kate ended up bawling on the flight because they had experienced so many delays and issues and she just couldn’t take it anymore? Sorry, I don’t think anyone can “stage” that kind of craziness. Anyway, due to the comfort that it brought me, I have a special place in my heart for that family. Yes, I know the show has made them millionaires…yes, I know they have lots of help now to manage the size of that brood…yes, I know Kate doesn’t just come up with all of these “brilliant” ideas for organizing their lives all on her own…yes, I know they get enough freebies to make working or bringing in any other type of income completely unnecessary…….HOWEVER, I still like it. I like the family…I like the warm fuzzy feeling that I get from watching some of their escapades…I like learning about their quest to go green, eat organic and cut coupons for almost everything they buy (or used to)…I like to hear about some of the household rules they have implemented and how they handle certain situations…blah, blah, blah. Needless to say, I am a little bummed about the recent news stories highlighting Jon’s alleged infidelities. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but they have both taken quite a beating since the 1st group of photos were released. Jon is being accused of cheating…Kate is being accused of deserving it. Frankly, I think a lot of the arguing that we see between the two of them on the show is what most couples experience as they go from being a married couple with no responsibilities, to being a family of 3 or more. Do I snip at Drew sometimes? Of course. Does Drew snip at me? You better believe it. Stress and sleep deprivation can cause even the most loving couple to suddenly break down and want to wring each other’s necks. Do we love each other any less? Hell no. Sometimes I think I love Drew more because of it. The fact that we can annoy the crap out of each other and then be laughing again 10 minutes later is pretty darn cool. We’ve seen each other at our worst and we’ve seen each other at our best. I have literally cracked up at some of the absurd responses I’ve read from other viewers…people who are so quick to point out the shortcomings in Jon & Kate’s relationship and allude to their own relationships being so “perfect”. I call BS on anyone who tries to tell me that their relationship with their mate didn’t change one iota when they became parents……or that every moment together is bliss when neither one of you has had an uninterrupted nights sleep in months, or a night out together (alone!) in even longer. Sure, Jon & Kate chose to be in the spotlight and they have definitely said some pretty harsh things….but haven’t we all at one time or another? Can you honestly say that in a one-week timeframe, everything you say to each other is sweet and nice and filled with love…without a trace of irritation or frustration? I’m sure those weeks are rare, if they even come around at all. I am not saying that I condone Jon’s behavior (if that turns out to be true)…I’m just saying that a story like that encourages people to drag all kinds of other crap into an already sticky situation and the hype is turning me off to my warm fuzzy. Damn Jon for being stupid and damn the media for ruining my good time!