Monkeyrocks

If any of these people really wanted to help anyone,while also seeing new places, they could join the Peace Corps. Or even Americorps, if they're afraid of landing in Danger America or something. I doubt they'd last half a day, but, you get housing, a living stipend, health insurance, etc. They give you language training if needed. You don't need to have gone to college. Of course, you'd actually have to have a work ethic and learn to live with people from different cultures, so, yeah, they'd never be able to do it, but, there are ways to actually *help* people and, if not get "paid" for it, not have to pay yourself. It's actually a dream of mine to join the Peace Corps once my daughter has graduated and flown the nest.

I think it's due to a couple things. 1) Abbie was a full-fledged adult when they started dating/courting/whatever. She had some education. She had a job. She had to have dealt with people outside their circle at some point. 2) JD never seemed sold on the whole super-fundamentalist bent. I think he's held on to a lot of their crappy beliefs, but, I don't think he's a full-fledged member. I mean, he was a bachelor until he was almost thirty; I think the only reason he WOULD have married Abbie was because he really felt something for her, because he seemed to have absolutely zero desire to end up with the sort of life his parents and most of his siblings had.

I know it's not exactly the same situation, but, as a former military wife, it usually took me a few weeks-couple months to adjust to the new normal. BUT, I was not raised in a cult, had a job, had lived independently on my own before, etc. I know a few military wives who married rather young (like, straight from their parents' home to married), and they had absolutely no idea how to do things I took for granted, especially financials. Things like disputing a credit card charge, renewing a lease, paying the water bill, etc. In one case, how to write a check. If JB has taken this over, it shouldn't be too difficult for Anna on a day-to-day basis(what really will have changed? Did Josh help with the kids at all? How present was Josh ever, anyway?). If she's now taken over most of this, or even a lot of the non-financial decision making (which I doubt - I feel certain that she has probably always deferred to Josh if there was ever a question, and I expect she's deferring to JB now), there is going to be a VERY steep learning curve for her, and I could definitely see her having massive trouble adjusting, especially with seven kids attached. I think she has almost like Stockholm syndrome. She'll never fully admit he's guilty. She might have moments of doubt, but, she'll never truly believe he did these things.

They've been visited by CPS before, though, haven't they?

Or something like lawn care/landscaping type stuff? I could see Jill exaggerating and stating he's Johnathan's employee when all it really means is Johnathan is more senior on some sort of crew.

My daughter was a very slow grower (from a family of above-average height/weight). You'd best believed I raised concerns with the pediatricians repeatedly. She was below the charts for a few years for weight:height, and around age 11 (she was 59 lbs), the ped put her on TWO cans a day of the 540cal/can boost (not plexus), because there was nothing clearly wrong other than she just didn't put on weight. They finally tested her for some thyroid stuff when she was 13 and still tiny. A couple things came back slightly low, but nothing super concerning, so, everyone chalked it up to just an anomaly. She'll be 16 in a couple of weeks, and is now 5'4" and about 115lbs, but, it was very odd how little she was for so long, given our family statistics. I have a friend with a child almost the same age who had similar issues, and was tested around the same age; it turns out he needed some growth hormone, so, sometimes it's just a late grower with a fast metabolism, and other times, there are medical issues. In that family, I've no doubt those kids are so starved and malnourished they *can't* grow. It's gross how Jill not only keeps them mentally and emotionally undeveloped, but literally stunts their physical growth, as well.

I actually did that when my daughter was little because we were quite poor, and all my spare money went to my custody battle. I would scrub in the bath tub and then hang on a drying rack rather than pay $2.50/load. When my daughter was six, her classroom got lice, and I nearly cried because I knew I had to machine wash and dry on hot all our clothes, linens, etc., and I hadn't factored that into the month's budget because it was obviously unexpected. The practice has actually served me well. We doing much better now, and have our own washer/dryer, but, I still tend to hang clothes on the line/rack (which saves electric and wear and tear on the clothes, and is obviously better for the environment), and when we travel, I'm a pro at washing clothes in the sink so we can bring just enough to not have to pay to check bags. And when the zombie apocalypse comes, I'll at least have clean underwear, unlike the Rods.

I really hope N and N only have boys. I am convinced if there is a girl, they will name it Nevaeh, (Heaven! Spelled backwards) which I don't like to start with, but then they will use a Kre8iv spelling, and it will be Nevajeh, to "honor" Jill with a random J, and the girl will go her whole life being called "Neevuh-Jay" or "Nuh-VAH-juh" or something else ridiculous.

My daughter started caddying at the local country club at 14. She does that during the summers, and now, at 15, she also works part-time at Dairy Queen during the school year. And picks up the odd pet-sitting job here and there. I told her she's not getting her license until she has a year's worth of car insurance saved up (Because, yo, that is EXPENSIVE, and I do believe she should pay for it both to demonstrate responsibility and to have the "realness" of the expense kind of hit home). So, she works.

Hate to rain on their parade, but, Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages for an English speaker to learn. The FSI ranks it as a starred category four, meaning it takes somewhere between 1100 hours and 2200 hours of study to get "professional working proficiency (level 3)". And that is "the average length of time for a student to achieve proficiency, though the actual time can vary based on a number of factors, including the language learner’s natural ability, prior linguistic experience, and time spent in the classroom." I have somewhat of a natural ability for languages, a huge vocabulary in English, with an interest in etymology, speak Spanish (not perfectly, but, was an exchange student there), studied french for five years, and then took a Croatian course, which is only a "regular" category four (so not as hard as Hungarian), threw a TON of time and effort into it, and I only got to about a level 1. I mean, good luck with Hungarian, guy.

I would win that season. My tinder profile has no photos of me in makeup, and I pretty much am like, "My cat has more personality than you, so, pass" (Granted, my cat has a LOT of personality). And my mom bought me new flannel pjs for Christmas. LET'S GO!!!!

Did he wear running shoes with a full-on suit?

My parents met when my mom was 18, and my dad 32. They got married a month after my mom's 20th birthday, I was born 2 days after her 21st birthday, and they celebrated 45 years of marriage last april. I mean, it *can* work out. I do think expectations might have been less in the mid-70s, though, as far as "life experiences". And, to be fair, who was the oldest woman there? Was there even any woman over 30? I'm not sure Kenny had much pickins as far as that.

I don't know if it's that they're uncomfortable with each other. Not-Nurie just looks like she has no idea why BME is taking photos. That's the "WTF?" look my teen daughter gives me when I want a random pic and she thinks I'm ridiculous. Jonathan is smiling the smile of a young man who knows he's about to know someone...ahem...biblically

He looks like a fireman I dated about seven years ago. Of all the various fundie boys and suitors, he's the only one where I haven't immediately recoiled (I think a couple of the Bates boy-men were good looking, but, they seemed like such egotistical jerks it overshadowed everything else). Maybe that bodes well. Or maybe I've spent too much time alone. Here's hoping Not-Nurie can be Not-Near-Mama soon!