Counting On - Season 4, part 4 - Where Time Isn't Linear and Everyone Is a Relative

[Beermeet]

I have the pickle ornament!  I just liked it, my tree has lots of quirky ornaments.   Only last year I found out the German tradition and now I love it even more! 

[Irene]

Joseph wedding last monday, was that the last episode this season?

 

[albanuadh_1]

Spoiler

 

Yes, for this season. There is some speculation it might actually be the end. I doubt it. I can see specials.

No spoiler & can't get rid of it.

[Jinder Roles]

11 hours ago, motelmum said:

 

 

  Hide contents

http://shop.davidjones.com.au/djs/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&productId=7104181&langId=-1&storeId=10051&cm_mmc=googlesem-_-PLA-_-Home+and+Garden+-+D?cor+-+Seasonal+and+Holiday+Decorations-_-Oberfraenkische+Glas+Christmas+Pickle+Ornament&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvuDPBRDnARIsAGhuAmaA-aiomJp5ntt_rKhsQ8NI85HlwoqFkSnRKkrAx1_ufApzgyXdg_waAqPsEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds this is the link if you would like one.....    

 

Okay, I'm just going to say it: that pickle ornament kinda looks like a vibrator. 

I'll escort myself out now. 

[VelociRapture]

 

3 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

I think the adults being able to choose their life path, like choosing when to have children, or how many children to have.  I think Jinger is free, yes she's married to a misogynistic conservative Christian hater, but she's not pregnant yet and has been married for a year, and I do think it is by her choice.   She's getting to live in a larger city, she's traveling, her husband seems to love her very much, she's reading books, taking pictures and enjoying being a young woman.  She's no longer under her parents control, and that alone is almost everything.  It remains to be seen how much 'authority' Jeremy wields over her but what ever that is, she seems very content with it.

Jill is still totally at the mercy of her father and her husband, Jessa, has a bit more freedom as Ben isn't an authoritarian, but she is still dependent on daddy for housing.  While she is the CEO of the Duggar brand, she still needs her family for her paycheck. 

Not sure on Joy yet, she's married to a man who can provide her a home and a steady income without relying on JB so she is not longer required to be under his thumb, but is Austin as horrible as Boob?  Only time will tell with her.

Josh is screwed and I don't care he can rot.

Joe and Kendra are young kids playing house right now. 

I'm interested to see where they all are in 10 years, who's still preaching hate, who's STILL having babies and who is just over all of it and working and staying away from their insane family.

Jessa and Ben own the house they live in. The Duggars moved a bunch of properties around this summer - Grandma Mary transferred the house to the Seewalds at that point. So they aren’t dependent on her family for housing anymore. 

1 hour ago, albanuadh_1 said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yes, for this season. There is some speculation it might actually be the end. I doubt it. I can see specials.

No spoiler & can't get rid of it.

I seriously doubt the show is ending. The Forsyths were filmed in Switzerland on their honeymoon in May/June and JoKen were just filmed for their honeymoon in Greece last month. Neither trips have aired yet. I highly doubt TLC would have spent money on two international honeymoons for them if they weren’t sure they’d be renewing the show for another season. 

[singsingsing]

30 minutes ago, Jinder Roles said:

Okay, I'm just going to say it: that pickle ornament kinda looks like a vibrator. 

I'll escort myself out now. 

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

[motelmum]

4 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

The person (or maybe only children play?) who is the first to find the pickle ornament on the tree gets to be the first to open a present.

I wouldn't be able to do that. I am a bit funny about the tree. I finally got a tree full of lovely glass ornaments and then last year we had a full family Christmas at our house (no motel guests to worry about anymore) and moteldads niece has a 3 year old so away they all went and off I went to get some plastic ones. 

I know Christmas is more magical (especially as  I don't celebrate it for the religious aspect)  with kids, but I just wish they didn't touch everything...lol... I know I do have a problem. It kills me that the kids decorate the tree and it isn't balanced.

Hello my name is Motelmum and I am anally retentive when it comes to Christmas Trees and their decorations. 

[ElToro]

7 hours ago, SweetJuly said:

I know I'm really behind, but I only just got around to watching the JoKen wedding episode, and one thing that really struck me was how absolutely horrible the boys' room is.

These tall bunk beds crammed into what seems like a rather small room to start with. And then to imagine some 10(?) boys, teenagers and young men all having to share this tiny, crowded hell hole...

The shared bedrooms, especially the awful boys' room, are a good visualisation of the life the Duggar children lead at the TTH, both literally and figuratively.

Yes... We often talk about Jana, but I imagine life for John David is just as weird.

Outside the home he has a relatively well-regarded role with some authority and esteem - flying a plane, being a sheriff (or whatever it is he does)- then he has to go home and get in his bunk bed with his 12 year old brothers. Odd.

No amount of Christmas pickle ornaments is going to make that ok....

[Lurky]

Ooooh, for anyone who saw the male dormitory in the episode, did it look like they're still doing the no sheets or blankets thing?  I always remember the video when they moved into the TTH, and the girls had big pink comforters, and the boys only had an undersheet and a small narrow comforter on their beds, I'm guessing to try to deter them from masturbating.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

4 hours ago, Beermeet said:

I have the pickle ornament!  I just liked it, my tree has lots of quirky ornaments.   Only last year I found out the German tradition and now I love it even more! 

A friend found out this isn't a thing in Germany! lol..... She was devistated (humorously so). She researched it fora fun Christmas blog post.

23 minutes ago, ElToro said:

These tall bunk beds crammed into what seems like a rather small room to start with.

 

Iirc, the boys and girls rooms are about 1000 square feet EACH--like my house, but I imagine that includes the bathrooms and closet.

[Eternalbluepearl]

10 minutes ago, Lurky said:

Ooooh, for anyone who saw the male dormitory in the episode, did it look like they're still doing the no sheets or blankets thing?  

I think you've passed the point of having too many kids when there aren't sheets on the beds. Goodness gracious. But really, none of these kids are super young and some are adults. Everyone could be responsible for making their own beds. Surely the thrift store has some sheets and blankets they could buy used and save the difference on. The Duggars are so odd sometimes. 

[Lurky]

@Eternalbluepearl I totally think it was sin-prevention measure* because the girls' and boys' rooms were so different.  The girls' room was partitioned off, with big poofy pink American-equivalent-of-duvets, and the boys' room was all out in the open, with these little thin red towel-sized things.  

(Yet more of the warped ideas of the Duggars, and the really nasty, pernicious ways they treat natural teenaged sexuality as SINFUL DIRTY DISGUSTING)

[Beermeet]

24 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

A friend found out this isn't a thing in Germany! lol..... She was devistated (humorously so). 

Bummer!  The way I found out was at the dollar store.  A crappy plastic  pickle ornament had the explanation on it.  Lol

[iheartjnames]

Regarding to the 'what is free' question.  I have watched the Duggars from the first special, I was raised in a large family and have always been fascinated by other large families. Some of my family member and myself for a bit of time (but no longer) have been in a fundy light church so the Duggar beliefs have not been really foreign to me, but I do find them extreme.  I say all that to say that watching the episode of Joy and Austin's bachelor/bachelorette  weekend just made me sad and so aware of how trapped these people really are .  Because all i could think about was here are these young kids having fun with their peers doing shit  young kids like to do anticipating having sex and now shes pregnant,  Nothing puts a damper on your freedom like a baby, and  I have a child but I spent a few years with my husband camping, partying with friends having fun and then made a choice to have a kid.   

[J'Lurker]

2 hours ago, motelmum said:

I wouldn't be able to do that. I am a bit funny about the tree. I finally got a tree full of lovely glass ornaments and then last year we had a full family Christmas at our house (no motel guests to worry about anymore) and moteldads niece has a 3 year old so away they all went and off I went to get some plastic ones. 

I know Christmas is more magical (especially as  I don't celebrate it for the religious aspect)  with kids, but I just wish they didn't touch everything...lol... I know I do have a problem. It kills me that the kids decorate the tree and it isn't balanced.

Hello my name is Motelmum and I am anally retentive when it comes to Christmas Trees and their decorations. 

TWO Christmas trees is the solution. The kids decorate a little one, so they can reach near the top. All plastic, non-choking hazard decorations that they can keep rearranging. Fake presents they can shake or rip or throw without stress... making the wrapping paper with washable paint and stamps (you can use potatoes or cookie cutters) is a good themed activity too...

 

And then your tree becomes off limits to the symmetrically challenged!

[cascarones]

The boys room didn't bother me, maybe because I grew up with bunk beds, lived on base, where due to shortage of housing we were in a crammed space, rotated out who got beds or couches and spent a lot time in my early twenties traveling via hostel. If you've grown up that way, you're simply used to it. It's the same as Jill and Jinger both getting used to the silence of being alone, it's an adjustment either way. Privacy in sleeping quarters isn't a universal concept, it's one of those things that is definitely colored by our own experiences. 

I can't really snark on the Duggars for that, siblings share rooms in many families. There's eye masks and ear plugs, if your room is shared even just with one other person, it's not really private anyway. Most people I know from larger families had some sort of individual privacy spots outside the house and away from the chaos. 

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

20 hours ago, Jinder Roles said:

Okay, I'm just going to say it: that pickle ornament kinda looks like a vibrator. 

I'll escort myself out now. 

Naughty Santa should deliver these marital aides for the Dugarettes:

Spoiler

https://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Realistic-Cucumber-Frequency-Masturbation/dp/B00PABRT6M

If they put eyeballs on them, they could pretend it's Larry from Veggie Tales! Oh my!

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

16 hours ago, cascarones said:

The boys room didn't bother me, maybe because I grew up with bunk beds, lived on base, where due to shortage of housing we were in a crammed space, rotated out who got beds or couches and spent a lot time in my early twenties traveling via hostel. If you've grown up that way, you're simply used to it. It's the same as Jill and Jinger both getting used to the silence of being alone, it's an adjustment either way. Privacy in sleeping quarters isn't a universal concept, it's one of those things that is definitely colored by our own experiences. 

I can't really snark on the Duggars for that, siblings share rooms in many families. There's eye masks and ear plugs, if your room is shared even just with one other person, it's not really private anyway. Most people I know from larger families had some sort of individual privacy spots outside the house and away from the chaos. 

Room sharing doesn't bother me, it is 10 kids sharing 1 room with NO viable privacy option. You also have siblings sharing beds sometimes 2 or 3 to a bed. Then you have a 27 year old woman sharing a room with 8 & 9 year olds, I think have Josie, Jordyn in 1 room and Jenni & Hannie in another then allow Jana her own room, they could split the sisters room into 3 rooms, take away the horrid prayer closet more than enough space & they can share the bathrooms. The boys can as well be spread out over 3 rooms, have Jed & Jer in a room, Jason & James in another & a 3rd for Tyler, Jackson and Justin. Then JD could have Gma Mary's old room. And as the older boys & Jana marry, move them around, like Hannie & Jenni can have their own rooms then.  That monstrosity of a home could have 8 to 10 bedrooms easy, if they hadn't built it with 2 essentially cold air dorms on each side of a walk way because they were too lazy Godly to punish Josh for being a pervert.

[2manyKidzzz]

This has been so disrespectful to the innocent pickle and all of the lives it enhances.

ho ho

[cascarones]

3 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

Room sharing doesn't bother me, it is 10 kids sharing 1 room with NO viable privacy option

Out of curiosity, how do you feel about boarding school set ups then? Even in Harry Potter their only privacy is a curtain, which they all feel completely comfortable ripping open to get to the occupant. Like I said, it personally doesn't bother me, but I grew up in a house constantly full of kids, no locks on bedrooms or bathrooms and shared a bedroom (and bed) with my grandma for awhile to help her if she needed to get up in the night. We know Michelle and Jim Bob certainly weren't getting up in the night with the young children, so presumably the larger rooms over smaller ones played a role in that as well.

The Duggars don't want their children to have privacy when they're awake either, forcing them to have accountability partners, which is the large underlying issue that we see across all aspects of their daily lives, not just sleeping arrangements. Is that a Gothard rule or a Josh induced one? If it is Josh induced, did it start after he molested awake victims? I don't think that's in the paperwork and am not sure if they've ever said when their purity rules went into overdrive.

[VelociRapture]

1 minute ago, cascarones said:

Out of curiosity, how do you feel about boarding school set ups then? Even in Harry Potter their only privacy is a curtain, which they all feel completely comfortable ripping open to get to the occupant. Like I said, it personally doesn't bother me, but I grew up in a house constantly full of kids, no locks on bedrooms or bathrooms and shared a bedroom (and bed) with my grandma for awhile to help her if she needed to get up in the night. We know Michelle and Jim Bob certainly weren't getting up in the night with the young children, so presumably the larger rooms over smaller ones played a role in that as well.

The Duggars don't want their children to have privacy when they're awake either, forcing them to have accountability partners, which is the large underlying issue that we see across all aspects of their daily lives, not just sleeping arrangements. Is that a Gothard rule or a Josh induced one? If it is Josh induced, did it start after he molested awake victims? I don't think that's in the paperwork and am not sure if they've ever said when their purity rules went into overdrive.

The students sharing dorms in Harry Potter were divided by age - so Harry shared with four boys who were his age, the Weasley twins bunked with boys the same age as them, and so on. I didn’t attend boarding school, but I’d guess they’d likely have students share rooms who are closer in age to one another. 

No one seems to have an issue with siblings sharing rooms in general. I would assume most of us have shared or have children who have shared at some point. The only real issues I think people have are the huge age gaps between the siblings and the fact that their purity rules ensure they get next to no privacy. 

As for the accountability partners, I’m not sure. I believe it’s a Gothard thing that they may have made stricter, but I don’t know for sure. Maybe someone else who knows more could answer that. 

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

4 minutes ago, cascarones said:

Out of curiosity, how do you feel about boarding school set ups then? Even in Harry Potter their only privacy is a curtain, which they all feel completely comfortable ripping open to get to the occupant. Like I said, it personally doesn't bother me, but I grew up in a house constantly full of kids, no locks on bedrooms or bathrooms and shared a bedroom (and bed) with my grandma for awhile to help her if she needed to get up in the night. We know Michelle and Jim Bob certainly weren't getting up in the night with the young children, so presumably the larger rooms over smaller ones played a role in that as well.

The Duggars don't want their children to have privacy when they're awake either, forcing them to have accountability partners, which is the large underlying issue that we see across all aspects of their daily lives, not just sleeping arrangements. Is that a Gothard rule or a Josh induced one? If it is Josh induced, did it start after he molested awake victims? I don't think that's in the paperwork and am not sure if they've ever said when their purity rules went into overdrive.

I'm not a fan of boarding school for young kids personally, but to each their own.  I'm not aware of dormitories where you have 10 people to a room, but 1 or 2 roommates maybe 3. 

I'm more talking about kids/adults sharing rooms with someone 10 or more years younger or older.  Josie & Jordyn shouldn't be sharing a room with their sister who is 20 years older than they are, and Jana shouldn't have to share a room with sisters 20 years younger than she is.  JD is sharing a room with Tyler who is 9 or 10 and Jackson who is 13 so he's sharing with boys that are 15 to 19 years younger than he is.  Jed and Jer are almost 19 & also in there, Jackson and Tyler should be in their own room so should JD. 

[cascarones]

I'm not a fan of them either, my first year roommate at college had done her entire primary through HS education at boarding school and took some getting used to that there were only two of us in the same room. She spent a lot of time on the phone with her little ward sisters and it sounded like there were different ward teams of older and younger girls that shared the same dorm/ chore rotations. It seems like it would be hard to have kids and send them off so young and there was eyebrow raising in the Royal Family about Prince William and Prince Harry not going as young as previous generations.

Maybe that can be a storyline: They're redoing the TTH since so many of their blessings have moved out, the boys can put in walls and be inefficient movers, Jana and Hannie can run the new decoration project until Jessa stops by and it starts all over. Bonus points for letting the littles pick out their own bedding, just for them. I'm sure they'd have plenty of footage from the rooms and talking heads about how it was totally epic all being together and it'll be different, but good.

[Shadoewolf]

I was a ward of the state as a kid and in the 2 different facilities I lived in the wards/houses were divided by sex and age. Both places had 3 gigantic bedrooms, 4 girls to a room. No bunk beds, individual dressers and our own large cork board to decorate. Worst problem we had was a girl in our room had horrble sleep apnea and snored loud enough to wake the dead. 

The Navy was a different story and it took some getting used to. 24-30 bunk beds out in the open and somebody on watch at all times. 6 showers on each side of the wall. Modesty went out the window pretty quick. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

DH went to boarding school in Wales. I just asked about the sleeping arrangements. He had two different room types:  one with three beds, one with five beds. He refers to the "house" (it looks like an old English manor house) as a dormitory.