Are You Ever Envious of the Duggars?

[bluebird]

I would not mind having the travel experiences that they have had that has probably cost them next to nothing...nice perk from TLC. And, at age 58 it would be nice to not have to work. Outside of these 2 things there is no aspect of their life or item that they own that I am envious about. I look at their life and feel stress.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I'm a bit jealous that they all seem so healthy. If I had 19 kids at least six would be sick at all times. Wait, no. That would be the summer months. During the winter months, at least 12 would be sick at all times. I would do nothing but go to doctor's appointments and pick up prescriptions.

I hate to admit it, but this is an issue I have with them. I mean, damn, I only have one, and it's all I can do to keep him going most days, even after getting OFF cancer treatment.

And then we get a television show that is in part about a woman who's just poppin' babies out and handing 'em off to her daughters to raise, not a single real medical issue to date.*

(*...that we know of. Some have speculated that Jinger has underlying health concerns that affect her weight and the roundness of her face, and others believe that Josie might have delays from being premature)

But other than that, it must be nice to have a large passel of mostly healthy children.

Edited because there is a difference between effect and affect.

[It'sFunToRun]

I'm also envious that they're the only ones who really know what goes on in that house. It's like a mystery story where only they get to read the ending and the rest of us just speculate.

[JellyHope]

The only thing I might be a little envious of is that they are so sure of their beliefs. They don't have to think about anything, because everything is explained in their worldview and they completely buy into ALL of it. I am an atheist, so it's not like I agree with them, but that sort of certainty about *everything* might be nice. I over-think a lot of things... like ethical issues. They also don't have to worry about anything, because "god is in control." I worry so much about the state of the world, the state of the planet, etc. and they really don't seem to.

Be thankful that you have these worries & uncertainties. If you didn't, it'd be because you were too stupid to think, too dense see the bigger picture, too 1-dimensional & delusional in order to see everything so black & white.

[16strong]

The only thing about the Duggars I am jealous of is their popularity, but it has nothing to do with their religion or belief system. They seem to have so many friends that they can't keep up with most of them, and they are never short on things to do, places to go, or people to "fellowship" with. But I guess I was always envious of the popular girls in public school, too. :lol:

[Childless]

Am I envious of the Duggars? Nope. Not at all. I have an intact marriage, I have two fabulous children, I have traveled the globe, I have a college degree, I have a good job, my husband is working toward his college degree, my kids have a stay at home parent (my husband), I have a nice house, I have a nice car, we're all relatively healthy, I have the freedom to be who I am, I have parents who encouraged me to follow my dreams and considered education vital to life, I grew up with parents who had an intact marriage, my family has no food insecurity, my family has medical insurance, and I have a husband who treats me as an equal in our marriage and doesn't expect me to be submissive simply because he has a penis and I do not. I see nothing about the Duggar's life that I would desire. Not a single thing. I feel my life is much better than that of a Duggar solely based on my freedom to live my life as I see fit without having to run it by my father or my husband first. I was able to marry the person I wanted to marry without having to get daddy's permission like I was a 5 year old instead of a grown ass adult. I'm able to work without having to get my husband's permission to do so. People in my life assume I'm able to make intelligent decisions on my own without the need to consult someone with a Y chromosome. Why the hell would I be jealous of women who can't seem to function without someone else telling them what to do 24/7?

[doggie]

The only thing about the Duggars I am jealous of is their popularity, but it has nothing to do with their religion or belief system. They seem to have so many friends that they can't keep up with most of them, and they are never short on things to do, places to go, or people to "fellowship" with. But I guess I was always envious of the popular girls in public school, too. :lol:

they are only popular because of their faith and ability to breed. They can do no wrong but they are so wrong. People won't tell them how much their music and lectures and personalitys suck. The Duggars have no clothes.

[isarhenne]

I have to admit I am a little bit envious of them because I'm an only child and it sucks. I always wished for siblings. Also, my father was not protective at all when I wished he would have done something like e.g. say "no, he is bad for you, he is not nice, I do not allow you to date him". Yes I would have wished that my dad had told me things like that , it's weird, I know. He was rather uninvolved and I think if my mom didn't do all the organizing in the family he wouldn't even know when my birthday is.

[roddma]

There is being involved and being a control freak not letting your kids become adults. Only children tend to be stigmatized and stereotyped by society. Yea siblings are nice, but overrated. You have no guarantee of being close to them.

If you ask me, the siblings are close because they only have each other. I frequently see comments from fans saying how they wish they had such close family ties and intact loving parents, but do we really know what happens behind the scenes? The Duggars are trying to sell a lifestyle.I am not envious of any of it. I see the Duggar kids as privileged but lack choice.100 bridal showers mean nothing. A net worth of 3.5 mil means nothing. I doubt if 12 Duggar businesses would thrive in rural Arkansas. I am glad to think for myself and not be a slave for the cameras..

[CorruptionInc.]

I am a hippyish flower child who crafts, works in a job I love and I like to eat out, go to restaurants, go to bars, am happily single with no kids (nothing wrong with either kids or a partner, just not my forte); am I envious of the Duggars? Absolutely not. The negatives in their life far outweigh the positives!

[FloraKitty35]

I am a hippyish flower child who crafts, works in a job I love and I like to eat out, go to restaurants, go to bars, am happily single with no kids (nothing wrong with either kids or a partner, just not my forte); am I envious of the Duggars? Absolutely not. The negatives in their life far outweigh the positives!

:clap:

[andagoat]

I'm not envious of them, but there are things I admire about them. They are good people. They are loving. They are giving. They have a strong sense of charity. These are all traits I've helped my own daughters have.

But on the other hand, my daughters were also raised to be independent. My older daughter is in college (the Duggar's favorite school). Living on her own with a roommate. She does very well in school, she's a really good kid. She pays her bills on time. She's hysterical, she's smart, and she's beautiful inside and out.

My younger daughter has had some health problems in the past 2 years. If I had 18 other children, I wouldn't have been able to drop everything to help her. We've been all over the state at doctors and therapies, and she's doing much better. But it would be impossible to do that if we had all of those other mouths to feed, brains to educate, and child raising to do.

I'm happier with my life. We're far from perfect, but our life is perfect for us.

[Seren Ann]

I would definitely not want to be a Duggar, *shudder* but if I could cherry pick a few things, then here are some things I am envious of :

That they can get married young and have children young. I wish I could get married right now, but it's not an option. Neither of our families would understand, and we would have to pay for most of the wedding ourselves, which is just not possible since we are both students. I feel stifled by the accepted order of things in this society. I want to have children while I'm young and I feel like I could be a good mother right now. Instead I am facing 5 or more years of waiting, when biologically this is when I should be having children and I would cope best. It's frustrating to feel like I am wasting all these years. I don't believe in reincarnation, so to me, this is the one life I have. I wish I could start living it now.

I envy their financial security. I have to worry about money all the time, for everything. The Duggar girls get clothes, their weddings paid for them, they get fans buying them hundreds of dollars worth of gifts, they get a house lent to them to start of married life... They are handed everything. You bet I am jealous of that, my boyfriend and I will have to work hard for every little thing.

I envy their trips around the world. I have never left Europe. I wish I could discover other cultures. I would definitely have more respect for other cultures and be more appreciative and grateful for the opportunity.

I want a large family too (not into the double digits though, I don't think I could deal with that). I've always hated being alone, and I love how close I am with my siblings. I want my children to share that same closeness. I love the atmosphere there is in some large families (not the Duggars though), the teamwork, the interactions. It's something I really aspire to.

I suppose I sound really bitter and jealous in this post, but I'm not really :p When I watch the show, I don't spend my time resenting them for what they have and wanting it for myself. It's just an interesting exercise I think, picking out what I would want for myself in their lives, because goodness knows there is a lot I wouldn't !

[BrownieMomma]

The Duggars have no clothes.

That says it all right there.

[FreeHannie!]

I envy their financial security. I have to worry about money all the time, for everything. The Duggar girls get clothes, their weddings paid for them, they get fans buying them hundreds of dollars worth of gifts, they get a house lent to them to start of married life... They are handed everything. You bet I am jealous of that, my boyfriend and I will have to work hard for every little thing.

Yeah, me and my boyfriend could probably work hard our entire lives and never afford a house like the ones the Dills got right off the bat...

[Ivycoveredtower]

I'm not envious of them, but there are things I admire about them. They are good people. They are loving. They are giving. They have a strong sense of charity. These are all traits I've helped my own daughters have.

But on the other hand, my daughters were also raised to be independent. My older daughter is in college (the Duggar's favorite school). Living on her own with a roommate. She does very well in school, she's a really good kid. She pays her bills on time. She's hysterical, she's smart, and she's beautiful inside and out.

My younger daughter has had some health problems in the past 2 years. If I had 18 other children, I wouldn't have been able to drop everything to help her. We've been all over the state at doctors and therapies, and she's doing much better. But it would be impossible to do that if we had all of those other mouths to feed, brains to educate, and child raising to do.

I'm happier with my life. We're far from perfect, but our life is perfect for us.

You think the Duggars are loving and good people. Have you done any research. Look up Michelle Duggar robo calls and Jessa Duggar Holocaust. They are not good people.

[Sweet Fellowship]

Nope. Even though life hasn't been so kind to me, I'd still rather not live the restricted, indoctrinated life the Duggar children have.

[Kak]

Be thankful that you have these worries & uncertainties. If you didn't, it'd be because you were too stupid to think, too dense see the bigger picture, too 1-dimensional & delusional in order to see everything so black & white.

What a great question. I am also envious of their certainty in their beliefs. It must be so nice to have that faith. I don't either. It must also be nice to be sure of your place in the world. Well, from someone like Anna or Jill's viewpoint anyway. It must be difficult for those whose lives aren't following that proscribed path, especially unmarried females in their 20's.

I also agree it's good not to be that stupid, but it is true that ignorance is bliss.

What I'm trying to say is that I envy the peace of mind their beliefs give them, while I'm totally disagreeing with those beliefs.

[JellyHope]

I'm not envious of them, but there are things I admire about them. They are good people. They are loving. They are giving. They have a strong sense of charity. These are all traits I've helped my own daughters have.

:? :snooty:

[It'sFunToRun]

That they can get married young and have children young. I wish I could get married right now, but it's not an option. Neither of our families would understand, and we would have to pay for most of the wedding ourselves, which is just not possible since we are both students. I feel stifled by the accepted order of things in this society. I want to have children while I'm young and I feel like I could be a good mother right now. Instead I am facing 5 or more years of waiting, when biologically this is when I should be having children and I would cope best. It's frustrating to feel like I am wasting all these years. I don't believe in reincarnation, so to me, this is the one life I have. I wish I could start living it now.

I want a large family too (not into the double digits though, I don't think I could deal with that). I've always hated being alone, and I love how close I am with my siblings. I want my children to share that same closeness. I love the atmosphere there is in some large families (not the Duggars though), the teamwork, the interactions. It's something I really aspire to.

I could have written that! Except that you actually have a boyfriend and the reason you aren't married is because you care about the accepted order of society, and the ONLY reason I'm not married with at least one kid by now is because I haven't found anyone to marry me yet.

Seriously, if your boyfriend is on board, fuck the accepted order and get married and start having kids if that's your dream!!! Have a cheap wedding. Live in a tiny apartment. Why not?

[socalrules]

I am not sure it's envy or jealousy people are feeling so much has wishing they had some of he same opportunities the Duggars have had and that they could morph it into their own lives. Yes Jill gets to live in a big house but she has to live on her daddy's terms to stay in it. Yes she got the cheap wedding of her dreams but is that really anyone else's dream wedding? No dancing, no alcohol and cheap cake? As an only child I see the value of having siblings as an adult when caring for a sick parent alone. As a child I had friends and activities so I don't feel I missed out because I didn't have siblings. The Duggar kids are close because they are not allowed friends or activities outside of family. They get to travel yet, if you were on of them, don't think you would gain any cultural knowledge during your travels, Jim Bob will shut that down fast. They seem to take away nothing their travels. They might as well have gone to the town 20 miles away.

The Duggar kids may seem to do well within their little part of the world but would you really want to give up your identity to have their limited experiences in their "great" opportunities? They live in an either/or mindset. You can be a heathen going to hell because you drink, dance, are educated and live on your terms, or you an be a good girl who lives under daddy's authority cooking, cleaning, raising your siblings and being severely undereducated.

If I were to pick people to be envious or jealous of, I see no reason to choose anyone whose lifestyle will just take me backwards in life.

[freedomjesusfootball]

I really can't think of anything.

I grew up in a household where for part of the time, my mom was at home (like when my siblings were really young) and most of the time, both parents were working. There were times when my dad was in between jobs and my mom had to be the primary wage earner.

I chose my own career path, worked hard at my studies and training, got married to the person I chose (despite some loudly voiced objections from my sisters and mother which were ignored). I moved 2500 miles away from my family as soon as possible, because our relationship really works best when we only see each other a few times a year and everyone is a little buzzed for most of the time.

Would it be nice to have a larger network? I guess so, but at the same time, I know that I can't stand most people, I'm an extreme introvert, and I just don't have the desire to go out and cultivate a large group of acquaintances.

[SuffolkNWhat]

I can honestly say, hand on heart, I am not.

Maybe it's because I am more distanced being British but I could not live in a society that holds those beliefs and the sheer lack of tolerance *shudder*

[It'sFunToRun]

I'm also envious of how everything in Jill's life seems like a dream come true: starting when she was a toddler and prayed for a pink blanket and then got one, then being the girl who never got in trouble as a child, then having perfect faith that everything will be okay even when she was 23 and had never courted and she had sisters aged 20 -24 who had never courted, and then magically finding a cute guy who effortlessly jumped through her father's hoops, and they courted in the exact way that Gothardites should (minus that one full frontal hug!), had a big wedding, a ton of gifts, People cover, and complete with a honeymoon baby.

I'm also envious of how pretty Jessa is.

[RosyDaisy]

HAIL NAW!!!