Summary of Spring Days with the Moodys

[kpmom]

What in the hell would possess Sarah to write that the food was prepared in the bathroom? That is just stupid. She couldn't think of anywhere else? Like a bedroom? Outside? An office? Come on!

And how special, PBJ sandwiches. Such a special treat. Yikes.

Note that there are 8 truffles (that the kids made....when? and in the bathroom?). There are enough truffles Mom, Dad and kids - but not the grandparents, who, it sounds like, attended the picnic.

It doesn't sound very appetizing, does it?

Since the sandwiches were supposed to be a surprise, my hunch is the bathroom is the only place the Maxwells Moodys are sure to get a little privacy. Otherwise, they've talked about their open door policy, which I imagine is enforced in the Moody household, as well as the Maxwell household.

I guess if one of the "children" spends a little longer than usual in the bathroom :wanker: , they can always use the excuse they were just making sandwiches.

[MamaJunebug]

In the So. Ill - E. Mo. area, a tornado watch is declared when conditions are right to produce such a storm.

A tornado warning is issued as soon as a funnel has been sighted.

The St. Louis city/county area is so large that when sirens sound, unless it's pretty visible that it's heading for YOU, you go to the TV or radio or interwebz to get a better idea of the storm's whereabouts. There can be almost zero threat in the south while a funnel is tearing things up 20 miles to the north, but all hear the sirens.

Which brings me to the Moodys, in Sunflower, KS. No idea how the small towns do it now, and when I survived a big one in E.Kans., I .... blocked out all memories so there you go.

I'm going to be of charitable mind today and say that Poor Sarah is writing to engage the 6- through 10-year-olds who make up her core audience. The presence of danger after what was meant to be a gala day, the horrible thrill of thinking your beloved dog will be lost, the brave daddy who makes all well -- those are things a kid will relate to, especially kids who know about tornadoes (2/3 of the US!) and those for whom books and a precious few videos might be their only form of story-telling.

Tornadoes haunted me as a kid. I just knew one was gonna come down the front hall and whomp me as I played in the kitchen. Today, they fascinate and infuriate me. Were I younger, I'd be a chaser!

[ILoveJellybeans]

They made sandwiches in the bathroom? Ew. Peanut butter with traces of pee? No thank you. Nomatter how clean your bathroom is (and I am sure, seeing as the Moodys are the Maxwells by another name, that theirs is spotless from cleaning it every day), it is still disgusting and an inappropriate place to make food. Remind me never to accept food from the Maxwells, seeing as Sarah writes about real life, she has probably prepared food in the bathroom before.

[Honeysuckle]

Thunder storm. The mailman arrives with a package which Dad must sign for. Everyone races inside. Tornado sirens sound. Dad suggests the mailman shelter with them but he declines. The dog chases after the mailman. Max tries to chase after the dog but Dad calls him back. Dad gets the family into the house then goes to catch the dog. He has to carry her to the house. Dad is very wet.

The dog is a (poorly trained) rebel to the end.

And, ew, bathroom sandwiches? No thank you, I'm suddenly not very hungry. I'll just have a great big plate of nothing, but only if that plate hasn't been in the bathroom too.

[Fun-Dee]

The dog is a (poorly trained) rebel to the end.

And, ew, bathroom sandwiches? No thank you, I'm suddenly not very hungry. I'll just have a great big plate of nothing, but only if that plate hasn't been in the bathroom too.

But was the mailman jolly?

[polecat]

They made sandwiches in the bathroom? Ew. Peanut butter with traces of pee?

Would that be peenut butter? :think:

[WonderingInWA]

Would that be peenut butter? :think:

Imagine now how many kids are going to be "inspired" to make peanut butter sandwiches in the bathroom, and in bathrooms that may or may not be clean? Blech! I know my youngest son was THAT kid -- always trying to sneak off to cut his hair or have some candy or play with hair gel, etc. He never made sandwiches in the bathroom, but he absolutely would have if he'd been given the idea.

[Cleopatra7]

Does Sarah ever explain what Pa Moody does for a living or is the reader to assume that he runs a vaguely defined "ministry" like most Fundie men?

[AllisonWndrland]

Miggy, much applause in your direction. This is the. MOST. BORING. BOOK. EVER.

Tornado watches are common in eastern Kansas, but warnings and sirens sounding only occur when there is actually a tornado in a specific area. If sirens were sounding, I highly doubt the mailman would be cruising around outside. However, I shouldn't say that. It was common in the small town where I grew up to head outside when the sirens went off so you could watch for the funnel yourself. Storm spotters in our area were typically the volunteer fire department, which means your next door neighbor was also the fire fighter and the storm spotter, so if they weren't out in their personal truck watching the clouds, they were in their yard or field watching the sky. Some really severe tornadoes in our area in the last 6 years or so have led to more people heeding the siren and going the heck inside. Many people in Topeka haven't forgotten the huge tornado outbreak of 1966, either, so I just don't know how accurate the mailman sequence is or how smart it would be for the mailman to decline shelter.

Also, to those who have been to the Laura homesteads and who are going to PEI for Green Gables, I AM JEALOUS. I have declared our family is going to the Independence home site this summer, but I would dearly love to get to the Mansfield site.

[Jezebel]

One thing the fundies like to brag on is how their kids (girls in particular) are so much better prepared to do domestic tasks--such as cooking and showing hospitality--than godless heathen kids. And the best the Moody kids can manage are PB&Js, apples, and carrot sticks?

And if they were able to use the kitchen long enough to make truffles (please oh please tell me they weren't made in the bathroom), then why didn't they make other food while they were at it?

That said, given how much repetetive, needless, schedule-filler housework the Maxwells do, I'll venture that their bathrooms are cleaner than most people's kitchens.(This is not--at least to my mind--a virtue, however.)

[RandomTrivia]

And if they were able to use the kitchen long enough to make truffles (please oh please tell me they weren't made in the bathroom), then why didn't they make other food while they were at it?

Given how much space has been used up describing the littlest trivial thing, how come the truffles just pop up out of nowhere? Surely a page could have been filled with the details on truffle-making. (I know the recipes I've read were kind of long, and seemed tricky enough that I just buy mine, thanksmuch.)

Also, living in a tornado-siren-prone area, if the sirens are actually sounding, any dog that runs outside is on its own for the duration, whether the sky looks okay or not. The only way I can think that there would be sirens going off, and then an all-clear announcement on the radio that quickly, is if the sirens were set off accidentally. Usually when the sirens are sounding, there's been a funnel cloud spotted somewhere.

Locally, there are discussions of splitting the county and sirens into three zones, so that the south half of the county doesn't hear sirens because a funnel was spotted 30-50 miles away. Seems like a good idea to me, we'll see if they make it happen or if it gets forgotten after tornado season passes.

[daisyjane1234]

Just to add my two cents to the NICU and visiting children conversation. Our second child did a tour of duty in the NICU. Our older son was not allowed in to the NICU for a visit and did not meet his brother until he was discharged. He did send pictures and a dinky car to his little brother though! And yes, similar to other posters, only close family was allowed to visit and only with a parent. The only non-family members allowed to visit our son were our minister and very close friend who was, conveniently, a physician.

[twin2]

I have truly enjoyed the snark on the boring, yet inane life of the Moodys.

However, I think, that in some way we are looking back into the life of Teri and the Reversals. Anxious Mom who can't seem to deal with any change to her strict schedule, kids who basically take care of each other and go way out of their way to make life easier for mom and panic if anything goes wrong, a father who has to step in and "save the world" whenever anything appears to go off course......

[Hane]

Ducking in to say that my daughter and I did the Anne of Green Gables rounds when we went to PEI about 20 years ago. It's a lovely, peaceful place for a vacation, and there's a nice beach on the north shore.

I learned that Japanese girls often read Anne at school, and that some actually go to PEI to get married. At some of the tourist sites, there were English-French-Japanese trilingual signs.

The next semester, I had a Japanese student in my ESL class, and she told me that she did indeed read Anne of Green Gables at school.

[Miggy]

We all realise Sarah is only writing from her own experience, no research, no outside ideas. Based on that I would say;

# Lots of people were allowed to visit Susannah. We know this is because Susannah was dying and hospitals can be very compassionate. Sarah took this as normal.

# Sarah probably met a mother who had a baby with a cleft while visiting Melanie after one of her births. If not then, she met a mother at a conference. Either way, the mother is not someone she knew well or for a long time. (There is no one in the Maxwell circle having babies apart from Mel & Anna.) Her knowledge of cleft lips, therefore, comes from five minutes with someone. Not surprising that Sarah wouldn't know most clefts are picked up on ultra sound, most parents are not instantly happy an accepting of a not-perfect child.

# I often feel fundies have no empathy. For example; I would not turn up with eleventy billion children to do a house renovation for someone about to have a baby, unlike the Duggars. A determination to have a servant's heart or be a blessing gets in the way of thinking through whether an action, however well intentioned, is actually needed or wanted by the other person. Sarah does this over and over. Visiting a pregnant lady with six kids? Not really a blessing. Visiting a sick baby in hospital? Definitely not a blessing. I have personal experience of this through my fundy-in-laws so it touches a raw nerve. Visiting me a few days after the birth of baby 3 with six children in tow was an imposition, not a blessing. Bringing a large number of precooked was a waste of time, not a gift, as I have a child with allergies and we can't risk food we don't know. I find myself too often saying "Well I appreciate the thought but ..."

[Cleopatra7]

We all realise Sarah is only writing from her own experience, no research, no outside ideas. Based on that I would say;

# Lots of people were allowed to visit Susannah. We know this is because Susannah was dying and hospitals can be very compassionate. Sarah took this as normal.

# Sarah probably met a mother who had a baby with a cleft while visiting Melanie after one of her births. If not then, she met a mother at a conference. Either way, the mother is not someone she knew well or for a long time. (There is no one in the Maxwell circle having babies apart from Mel & Anna.) Her knowledge of cleft lips, therefore, comes from five minutes with someone. Not surprising that Sarah wouldn't know most clefts are picked up on ultra sound, most parents are not instantly happy an accepting of a not-perfect child.

# I often feel fundies have no empathy. For example; I would not turn up with eleventy billion children to do a house renovation for someone about to have a baby, unlike the Duggars. A determination to have a servant's heart or be a blessing gets in the way of thinking through whether an action, however well intentioned, is actually needed or wanted by the other person. Sarah does this over and over. Visiting a pregnant lady with six kids? Not really a blessing. Visiting a sick baby in hospital? Definitely not a blessing. I have personal experience of this through my fundy-in-laws so it touches a raw nerve. Visiting me a few days after the birth of baby 3 with six children in tow was an imposition, not a blessing. Bringing a large number of precooked was a waste of time, not a gift, as I have a child with allergies and we can't risk food we don't know. I find myself too often saying "Well I appreciate the thought but ..."

That's because the point is not to help other people, but to self-aggrandize and "minister" (which usually amount to the same thing). It doesn't matter what the receipiant of the help needs or wants.

[SPHASH]

Chapter 20. Exploding Surprises

Kids have finished school for the year and they are organising a celebration. I think it is meant to be a surprise because Mollie is going to make sandwiches in the bathroom (yes, you read that correctly, the bathroom) and Max is going to bake the brownies at Grandmas. Mom sends Mitch to Grandpas to borrow a dozen eggs. Mitch is worried. They are preparing a special lunch and now Mom is going to spoil it by preparing a special lunch. Grandpa and Dad sort it out. Now Mom thinks Dad is bringing home a treat. Kids are worried it will rain and their picnic will be spoilt.

Mollie makes peanut butter sandwiches in the back bathroom. Max & Mitch cut up apples and carrots. Grandpa brings over brownies.

Dad comes home. Kids set up a blanket on the lawn. Thunder - hope it doesn't rain. They lead Mom outside with her eyes closed. Surprise! Kids feed the twins so Mom can relax and eat her peanut butter sandwich. They have forgotten something. Mollie runs inside and comes back with a box and some cards. They have made Mom eight chocolate truffles.

Thunder storm. The mailman arrives with a package which Dad must sign for. Everyone races inside. Tornado sirens sound. Dad suggests the mailman shelter with them but he declines. The dog chases after the mailman. Max tries to chase after the dog but Dad calls him back. Dad gets the family into the house then goes to catch the dog. He has to carry her to the house. Dad is very wet. The picnic food is still outside but they have saved the truffles. Dad turns on the radio. There will be large hail stones but the tornado warning is cancelled. (Is it normal for a tornado siren to sound and then have the warning cancelled by the time you get inside? Sounds unlikely to me but I'm willing to be educated by someone who lives in a tornado area.)

"Praise The Lord everything's ok here. Since our lunch is ruined, I'm going to call and order pizza." (Thanks Dad! We're all safe inside. Let's get the poor pizza delivery guy to come out in the storm. Ugh. Fundies really don't go in for empathy, do they?)

They decide to look at the package that Dad signed for while they wait for their pizza. It's a toy plane sent by Aunt Olga from Colorado. She has sent them the money to go and visit her in Colorado. (Ah, the topic of the next book.)

Are Grandma and Grandpa divorced? Cuz the way it sounds they are not living together.

[Lillybee]

I predict a lot of mountain climbing hours before the crack of dawn in the next book.

[browngrl]

Not sure how you're managing to crawl through these books Miggy - but kudos.

Who is surprised that Sarah's books are as dull as dishwater? Where ever would she get interesting ideas? From other books? No because they don't read anything but the Bible. From going to different places and doing different things and having adventures?No because they always travel as a group - constantly monitoring each other for the slightest deviation from the usual. From watching interesting movies/tv shows/ going to the theatre/ballet/opera etc? No, they pray or clean for fun. From meeting interesting people who do interesting things? No they only socialize with immediate family and a select few others.

[anjulibai]

Does Sarah ever explain what Pa Moody does for a living or is the reader to assume that he runs a vaguely defined "ministry" like most Fundie men?

He works at a bank. Though, to my mind, you'd think that the Maxwells would be against banks since they only exist because people take out loans. I think we've had that discussion before, but it's still ridiculous to me and just more evidence that Sarah does no research and has no idea how the world really works.

[twin2]

He works at a bank. Though, to my mind, you'd think that the Maxwells would be against banks since they only exist because people take out loans. I think we've had that discussion before, but it's still ridiculous to me and just more evidence that Sarah does no research and has no idea how the world really works.

I predict that in a future book Pa Moody will see the error in his ways, leave his job, start an at home ministry making homeschool books and teaching an online IT course or two.

[16strong]

I have truly enjoyed the snark on the boring, yet inane life of the Moodys.

However, I think, that in some way we are looking back into the life of Teri and the Reversals. Anxious Mom who can't seem to deal with any change to her strict schedule, kids who basically take care of each other and go way out of their way to make life easier for mom and panic if anything goes wrong, a father who has to step in and "save the world" whenever anything appears to go off course......

I never thought I would relate to Sarah on anything, but I grew up with a dad who was [not abusive], but constantly at risk of blowing his top off over almost anything. Just about anything could turn my fun, upbeat dad into a living nightmare in a split second's time. As kids, me and my brother learned the expert way of walking on eggshells. Now, if I don't want my presence made known, you will not notice I am even in the room. I sneak up on people a lot. :lol:

I speak from experience that Sarah is very likely always in stress mode: When will mom freak out next? Omg, I shouldn't have said that, now the whole house is really going to be upset for the rest of the day because when mom's unhappy, so is everyone else! I hope that saying hello to my ungodly neighbor won't set her off. I can't believe that I asked her to bake something extra for Thanksgiving, she will be a stress mess for the rest of the week, and it's all my fault.

It's truly not a nice way to live and produces seriously anxiety-ridden kids. And when they figure out it's not their fault (usually as teenagers or adults), their parents are left wondering why their kids avoid their company. So I think Steve is trying to prevent a Maxwell Spring. As long as grown kids are infantilized, they won't understand that the way their parents behave has nothing to do with them.

[shedemei]

Not sure how you're managing to crawl through these books Miggy - but kudos.

Who is surprised that Sarah's books are as dull as dishwater? Where ever would she get interesting ideas? From other books? No because they don't read anything but the Bible.

The bible actually has tons of interesting and messy human stories in it, especially the OT. I wonder if she's allowed to read THOSE parts or if Stevehovah carefully picks her reading material.

[thoughtful]

I am hung up on the apples & cheese for a midnight snack. Were they served in Godly proportions, or was it a hell-bound free-for-all?

And more important, did Mama Moody remember to take the paper off of the cheese?

[Bethella]

We all realise Sarah is only writing from her own experience, no research, no outside ideas. Based on that I would say;

# Lots of people were allowed to visit Susannah. We know this is because Susannah was dying and hospitals can be very compassionate. Sarah took this as normal.

# Sarah probably met a mother who had a baby with a cleft while visiting Melanie after one of her births. If not then, she met a mother at a conference. Either way, the mother is not someone she knew well or for a long time. (There is no one in the Maxwell circle having babies apart from Mel & Anna.) Her knowledge of cleft lips, therefore, comes from five minutes with someone. Not surprising that Sarah wouldn't know most clefts are picked up on ultra sound, most parents are not instantly happy an accepting of a not-perfect child.

# I often feel fundies have no empathy. For example; I would not turn up with eleventy billion children to do a house renovation for someone about to have a baby, unlike the Duggars. A determination to have a servant's heart or be a blessing gets in the way of thinking through whether an action, however well intentioned, is actually needed or wanted by the other person. Sarah does this over and over. Visiting a pregnant lady with six kids? Not really a blessing. Visiting a sick baby in hospital? Definitely not a blessing. I have personal experience of this through my fundy-in-laws so it touches a raw nerve. Visiting me a few days after the birth of baby 3 with six children in tow was an imposition, not a blessing. Bringing a large number of precooked was a waste of time, not a gift, as I have a child with allergies and we can't risk food we don't know. I find myself too often saying "Well I appreciate the thought but ..."

While I completely agree that Sarah didn't do any research and probably only briefly met a mother whose child had a cleft, I suspect that the way she has the mother react has more to do with how a truly godly woman would react than anything else. While the heathens might have trouble immediately accepting a non-perfect child, a godly parent will take any situation god gives them with praise and thanksgiving because not only god is good and wonderful but they are sinful, live in a fallen world and deserve to have bad things happen to them and their child.