It Is A Crazy Life...But Its Their Life...Let's All Leave Them Alone!

I have avoided this until I can't do it anymore.

Jon and Kate Plus Eight is possibly the saddest train wreck on television these days. I have watched the show since its debut...after all, the sextuplets are only four months older than my Hannah Joy (they have a Hannah Joy as well!) and watching them handle all the stages of life that come with babies, and preschoolers times six, not to mention the older twin girls, well, it just made life seem so much easier for this tired mommy. I could also identify with a frazzled mom and wife, yelling and being a bit unreasonable with regard to her well-meaning husband. Usually he would come in the door, after a crazy day for her, and then some sort of silly argument would ensue. I understood it, I understood it cause it happened to me all the time. I even understood the yelling and irrational behavior out in public, oh, not the kids, I am talking about the mom and yes, even the dad. They were raising eight children for heaven sake. Who wouldn't be stressed. It definitely made my life seem a breeze, after all, I just had one. Okay, one that seems like four or five at times, but still, there was only one high chair, one set of toys, one child's worth of laundry. I counted my blessing and watched for some much needed comic relief and dose of reality. That is until this year...

Rumors have floated, tabloids have had field days, unless you are just "out of the loop" there is no need to expand on it all here. The season premiere of the show left me sad. Two people, lost and drifted apart, their marriage seemingly over, sitting separately and then together on a couch for camera men and all of the world to watch them answer questions bitterly and dissolve into tears. It was heartbreaking. And then tonight's episode, probably even more so. They announced that the papers had been signed to dissolve the marriage. It was horrific to watch and yet, I couldn't turn off the television. I kept hoping they would say that the show would be over. But no, they are prepared to continue...but separately. How sad, how heartwrenching.

Now, instead of watching two parents cope with a life of raising such an extraordinary family, we will watch and see how divorce affects them, and even worse, how it affects the children. It is so sad to me...I know I can't watch anymore.

I know lots of people are deciding who should be blamed, Jon, Kate, TLC for airing it, the public for watching, the tabloid photographers, it really doesn't matter. The problems in their marriage weren't born because of the fame and fortune, I have a feeling they were already there and all of this just heightened it. Perhaps, as Kate says, this was inevitable with the world watching or not. We don't know and it is wrong to speculate. All I know is that marriage is hard, babies or not, world watching or not, it is hard. I know the feeling of watching a marriage spin out of control, I know the feeling of sitting in a counselor's office and picking apart life, he said, she said, etc. I have been there, and thankfully my situation so far has worked out differently. I can't imagine dealing with it all while running from a photographer or sitting in front of a camera and knowing that millions of people are watching. Their tag line for the show opening has always been, "it may be a crazy life, but it is our life" and tonight I agree, it is their life and it is crazy and they should be left alone not exploited by everyone (including themselves) for money and profit and gossip.

Last night, for me anyway, was the last night of the show. It is just too sad to watch and I tend to watch television to escape. It is definitely reality television! I will pray for Jon and Kate and their plus eight. I hope you do too.

Living Happily in the Moment!
Bev