I probably wouldn't fit on their bus

Monday evening, Clinton and I settled in to watch "A Very Duggar Wedding" on TLC, well, on DVR. We also had DVRed the preparing for the wedding edition of the show.


Before you get all "OMG THOSE PEOPLE AND THEIR 18 KIDS ARE COMPLETELY INSANE!!!!" Let me tell you a dirty little secret. I like the Duggars. And I have a lot of respect for them.




They aren't your average family. They do some kind of unorthodox things. But, they are self supportive - my tax dollars are not paying for their food, or medical care. So I feel like the choices they make in raising their kids, are just that. Their choices. I wouldn't make some of the choices they have made, but their kids seem happy and healthy and that's all that really matters. And I also think they do a pretty good job of leading by example, they don't tell their kids one thing and then do the opposite. They aren't telling you how to run your life. They're just making the choices for their own. The ones that work for them.


Their kids are a little sheltered. So it's not so surprising that Josh didn't know what alfredo was when they were dining out, or that they didn't actually know what the waiter was talking about when he offered to do some tantric dancing at their wedding, or that the fact that the restaurant they went to had regular plates and silverware and glass glasses meant it was fancy. I wasn't surprised that they opted not to have alcohol or dancing at their wedding for religious reasons. I do think it's kind of weird how they made such a big deal out of the fact that their relationship was a courtship, not dating, and their first kiss was their wedding kiss. But it seems that their parents weren't the ones behind that decision, they were.


I was really surprised that they decided to forgo the not seeing the bride before the wedding tradition. Although considering how eager they were to leave and make sure their departure time wasn't disrupted, I understand their decision to take the photo prior to the wedding. I was equally surprised that the bridesmaid dresses were actually kind of pretty. Simple and plain, but not like prairie garb or anything.


I was kind of surprised that Jim Bob waited until the day of the wedding to have the birds and the bees talk with Josh. (HAHA, it's kind of like Legos!) But the things he said to him - that you will have conflicts, but you should work to resolve them, not letting the sun go down on your anger, respecting your wife and listening to her even if you don't know where she going with what she's saying, and being there for her in the small things showing that you care. Those are all things I can get behind. You don't get to be the father of 18 children with one woman, who is still happy with you without doing something right.




So, I'm going to admit, I like the Duggars. But I still wouldn't fit on their bus because I don't like skirts. And the girls in their family don't wear pants. I'd have to be a niece, because Amy gets to wear pants, and hang out with them, and even the little ones say "she's different from us, but we love her anyway."