rue721

I think you're all right. Jessa in particular seems to have been hit with a big old dose of ennui, but all the girls also seem overwhelmed. Caring for an infant and toddler sounds legitimately difficult, and the adjustment is probably also hard because none of the Duggars have had jobs or gone to school or otherwise had to juggle responsibilities before. I'm sure that all the Duggars are easily overwhelmed when they're faced with many different demands, because what experience do they have with that? They've never even had to remember to do their homework and bring it to class the next day. They have missed out so much on not being able to go to school and be out in the world. It really bothers me. I know there are some people who hate school and would have been happy not to go, and plenty who hate work, but still -- they missed out on so much.

I don’t even get what she’s asking — how is cooking potatoes in a cast iron skillet different than cooking them in a pan? You just put some oil in, season it, put the potatoes in, etc. Same diff except the cast iron is easier to use, since the heat is so steady and well distributed through the pan. It’s made of cast iron, it can withstand basically everything as long as you don’t try to soak it. Not rocket science, but I guess you gotta end the stupid post with a question or the PR flack (Jana?) is going to be pissed.

Who eats hash browns out of a bowl? No ketchup or egg or cheese or anything? And those hash browns look nasty, both frozen and burnt. I think she turned the pan up too high and left the potatoes in there for too long without turning them. The bottom burnt, so she tried to quick get some color on the rest of the potatoes and get them in their... plastic bowls? So burnt on one side and undercooked on the other. That said, Anna always has that harsh grey filter on her photos so maybe that’s why they look so terrible.

Honestly, I think Jeremy is sick to death of his wife and daughters, he looked like Jinger and Felicity were driving him up a wall by the end of Week 1 of quarantine. So he’s not taking pics of the baby, he’s over it. Dunno what’s going on with Jinger, though. Maybe she’s just run too ragged to worry about social media right now. The thing I find weird about that is she used to be into photography as a hobby, but now she’s got two kids under three and her gym habit to keep up, so maybe there just isn’t time/energy for it now. I hope that’s what’s happening, because I hate to think something is wrong with the baby. It seems like a few of the Duggar women are actually having marital trouble right now, honestly. I wonder what that’s about, because none of them care about the pandemic, etc.

Jessa seems smart to me, too, but she also seems very cowed by her religion and her parents. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s very into practicing her religion, because going through those motions and saying those rote words are “safe,” it’s her comfort zone. And Jessa doesn’t like venturing out of her comfort zone. Something else that I have noticed about Jessa is that she is VERY tight with a buck, and to me that also speaks to a similar kind of insecurity and even learned helplessness. But what do I know, I’ve never spoken to Jessa in my life and never will. Anyway, Spurgeon seems very religious and even spiritual in his own right, and his parents are clearly encouraging that, but he’s a very young child. Ideas that are appealing to a five year old might not always seems so great, I really have no idea who he might grow up to be. Also, I think there is a lot of tension in that house right now, between his parents, and he’s old enough to pick up on that and feel stressed because of it.

Yeah, there are lots of issues with the conquistadors who founded Saint Augustine... but I doubt that Jill knows any of them! It's a beautiful town, and when I went a couple years ago there was a small history museum that was really amazing (I'm sorry, I don't remember the name. It's also possible it was a time-limited exhibit and isn't there anymore). Something that also made the trip fascinating for me was that, at the time I was reading a book called The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami. It's historical fiction about a real member of one of the earliest Spanish expeditions to the New World, including Florida (the real person that the story is based on was an enslaved Moor whose Spanish name was Estabanico). The book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and I really recommend it! It's heavy reading but so vivid, and it really sticks with you. Anyhow, I wish that the Rods had been reading The Moor's Account, and visiting historical sites, and otherwise doing interesting and age-appropriate activities down in St. Augustine instead of literally climbing the walls like feral animals... but wtf do I know? 🙄

@Scarlett45 Good idea on getting the shaker can, you'd die from the irony alone of falling while trying to pour from an enormous bag of ice melt! So jealous of everybody getting vaccinated! My parents are in group 1B but it looks like there won't be vaccines available for them for months, and it's really frustrating. Our city's 1B group is 30,000 people, but we are only just now finishing giving the FIRST shot to group 1A, and we only have 2,000 DOSES a week coming to us for the next month or so. Very unhappy about it, to be honest.

The thing about all these people is that they’re bored shitless. It’s a birthday week because there is literally nothing else going on, might as well make a thing out of a kid’s birthday, string it out for a week. Might as well make a thing out of trying out a tent inside. Might as well throw multiple showers for the same event, literally put up a banner and welcome out of town guests for a dental visit, throw a fake harvest festival like you’re a character on a teen drama, etc. They’re doing all this because they literally have nothing to fill their days and they’re bored bored bored. The waste of human potential, good lord.

Yeah, that's what I meant. They live there, but as far as I know, they're just long-term guests crashing at that house, it's not theirs and neither is much that's in it. Maybe that's wrong...but when I look at that gourmet kitchen and those two adults who can't cook, that's what I assume anyhow🤐

My coworker had what sounds like a similar health crisis this summer. I know basically nothing about medicine, but from what I understood, a fibroid or cyst ruptured in my coworker's ovary, which ruptured the ovary. Since an organ ruptured in her body, the health effects were very dangerous and she was very ill for weeks. Couldn't return to work for over a month because she literally couldn't sit up in a chair for much time at all. They initially tried to salvage the ovary and put it back into her body, but about six weeks later, just after she returned to work, she suffered complications and had to go to the hospital, and I think at that point they removed it. Anyhow, it sounds like Erin had a similar and perhaps even more dangerous health event (since she was also sick with Covid and it involved both ovaries). I would assume that she's probably downplaying the seriousness on social media, if anything, because it's scary and these aren't people who are great at confronting negative feelings and problems head on.

Well, it's not their house so I guess they don't have much choice!

Glad to see Claire in snowpants and appropriate snowboarding gear. It's crazy to me how much money this crew is throwing around but at least they're spending some of it on age-appropriate, fun activities where the girls are given proper equipment and encouraged to participate as much as the boys.

Cathy’s health at that time seemed really fragile and I’m sure Derick was afraid that he’d lose a second parent. His feelings toward his stepfather might have been complicated during that time, he may have been having a lot of feelings about his father not being at the wedding, maybe he was still idolizing JimBob, and/or there may have been conflicts between Derick and Ronnie over Cathy’s care. In fact, I’d expect all of that. Who knows why Ronnie wasn’t in this picture, but even if it was because their relationship wasn’t great at the time, I don’t think it necessarily reflects on what their relationship is like now that it’s years later, Derick has become a father himself, and Cathy’s health has improved.

I’m sorry to hear that she’s going through a health crisis — three emergency surgeries on top of a nasty case of covid is a lot, and sounds pretty serious. But as long as her health improves, I think this will end up being a blessing in disguise. They have a beautiful, complete (and not especially small!) family. And it may even be a relief to get out of the baby race.

Who knows, but I think the mostly likely/obvious explanation is that she did it because she was concerned for the kids. I hate Jill Rodriguez with a passion, but that’s exactly why I would be happy to drop off some food or clothes for her poor children. If you see children that are isolated and poorly taken care of, like if their mother just had a laundry room breakdown say, it can be hard to turn a blind eye. Even just being another friendly, safe adult presence in the house can be a good thing. This is also a household where one child ended up sexually assaulting many of his younger siblings, it wouldn’t take a psychic to see things were going poorly and to be worried.

@Turquoise I’m so sorry you and your husband are going through this! Thank god you got out the oximeter when you knew something was wrong and the doctor wouldn’t listen. Your husband is lucky to have you as his advocate! Try to go easy on yourself, too — your health is important, and this is a lot of stress.

Cosmo has the sweetest face! What a gentle look in his eye. That is one beloved and loving doggie. He looks like he feels very cozy and safe with you, even though he must be missing your godmother. Please think about texting her these pictures (if you haven’t already), because I’m sure she’d be so happy to see you both so happy ☺️

Damn, I have enough trouble keeping up with my own laundry. That said, the neighbor probably did it because otherwise the kids wouldn't have clean clothes, and nobody wants to see a bunch of kids running around in dirty second-hand clothes. That the Duggars were relying on neighbors and their church to provide their home, keep their kids in clean underwear, etc, shows that life in that house was tragic.

To show off his stuff. This guy is so materialistic. And so into accessorizing.

@Scarlett45 so sorry to hear about your godmother. It sounds like she would also feel more comfortable in a hospice facility, because her husband isn't giving her the support she needs at home. My grandmother is in an assisted living facility and she won't have to move if/when she goes into hospice. She's 95 and has been there for about 5 years. For about 10 years prior to that, she stayed in her home with home health aides coming more and more often, but eventually she had two falls in two days and the hospital said she needed 24 hour nursing care in order to be discharged -- that's when she had to move to the assisted living. It was immediately obvious that the level of care and comfort that she gets there is WAY beyond what we could ever have given her at home. She also was able to keep some level of independence and privacy by moving there rather than in with my mother or me, and that's something that was precious to her for a long time (although sadly, she has advanced dementia, so it's no longer a concern). So anyway, I actually think very highly of care facilities, especially for anybody that needs a high level of care. And I guess my point is, I hope your godmother gets the care she needs and is comfortable, safe, and free from worries about her husband and daughter. The other good thing is that all the care facilities I know of let you bring in pets! So you could visit with Cosmo! I haven't been able to see my grandmother since everything closed down in March, which has not been easy -- but I took my dog to visit her a few times last fall/winter, and Portia was always a hit with the residents (and of course, LOVED the attention!). Bringing her was a lot of fun for everyone.

@Mindthinkr ugh, who the hell does this guy think he is?! He thinks your daughter is at his mercy because of the kids, and he apparently wants to keep it that way. What an asshole. Honestly, I think she'd be better off without him. What kills me is him "forbidding" her from going to grad school, because there's no reason for that except to keep her under his thumb. It's up to her and I know it's easy for a stranger to say, but I think she doesn't need that shit in her life. As one of my friends says, she can do bad all by herself

Yeah, University of Arkansas is either the cheapest or nearly the cheapest law school in the country. That was the kind of thing I looked up when I was trying to decide where to apply. On top of that, it's pretty likely they gave him some kind of grant or financial aid if he had a decent application. It also wouldn't surprise me if Miss Cathy were helping with money toward tuition and books, maybe even enough so Derick is essentially not paying any educational expenses out of pocket right now. The Dillards seem to value education, and she wouldn't be the first parent to do that. Also, I think that the girls get the "dowry" of a first house, or some amount of money to go toward a first house (a down payment maybe), because all of the married girls have a house to their names pretty early in marriage, and it's clear that none of their husbands could have afforded to buy these houses on their own. I guess the Dillards have savings from Counting On, Walmart, and their missionary work, and it's enough to scoot by with some help from GrubHub? I agree that that seems unlikely, but that seems to be what Derick is claiming, anyway. I don't really think it's that crazy -- familial help with education and a first down payment is pretty standard middle class stuff nowadays. And I think Derick is trying to pretend he's totally boot-strapping it out of pride, which is cringe-worthy but also standard middle class stuff.

Yeah, I like her with bangs...just not THOSE bangs. But I walked around for a solid year or two with homecut bangs at around her age and thought I looked awesome. Seeing these pictures of Joy, I'm starting to wonder what my hair actually looked like... 🙃

Between Cross Church, the missionary work that's no doubt plastered all over his resume, and marrying a Duggar, Derick is already deeply, deeply embedded in a community of like minded people. If anything, his views will probably be helpful to him because of that community and network. I doubt he'll have more trouble getting a job than any of his classmates do, and probably less. He's already managed to score a good internship (or two? I forget) just fine, and is a spokesperson for a major study guide for the bar. I personally can't see Derick going into politics, he doesn't like or get along with people very well at all. He's more of a gadfly type. I can certainly see him writing endless bitter and obnoxious letters to the editor and haranguing politicians as he gets older, but I doubt he'll run for office himself or get very far if he does. I think Jill will have a stable and financially comfortable future, but she'll also have to live with Derick. You win some, you lose some.

I don’t think Derick has flailed around all that much, honestly. He seems to have married the first girl he ever dated. He went to his dad’s alma mater and majored in accounting (the least romantic subject possible), went on a couple missions like the religious fanatic he is, then came home to raise his kids and go into law. He’s not even 30 yet and his life is already as predictable and secure as he can make it. His great passion in life seems to be rules. He’ll probably be a lawyer forever, doing meticulous, endless work, being boring, aggravating and pedantic as hell for the rest of his days.