Maxwell 39: Like Sands Through an Hour Glass, so Are the Vests of Our Lives

[FloraKitty35]

At least Joshua has goggles, gloves, proper footwear, so I will begrudgingly give Steve credit for that.  Also, we have seen photos on Titus 2 of the daughters working with tools in the past (helping do remodeling on John & Jesse's houses) and Anna & Mary have also been photographed wearing safety google and proper footwear while doing said remodeling jobs.

[SPHASH]

Looks like Ruthie and Lydia are helping, course they won't get any credit or acknowledgement or it.  Josh's jeans need to be patched, why aren't they since the women are such great sewers?

Edited June 17, 2020 by SPHASH
ETA

[LurkerOverThePond]

Yes, the Maxwells at least take work safety seriously. Take note, Bateses/Duggars!

It would be a nice post of a grandson learning some life skills with grandpa if it weren't the fact that the said grandson's sisters are very much assigned different chores because of their sex. They are required to cook, clean and tend to little siblings in their floor length dresses (with long leggings underneath) while The Eldest Son is learning everything cool (no offense at all to Joshua, he's just a child who did not choose his lot in life).

As a kid I loved to "build" little toys or other imaginative stuff out of wood. Actually, now in my early forties I'm considering to study to become a carperter. My little and tween self would have absolutely hated to be told to dust the cabinets!

[JermajestyDuggar]

12 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Looks like Ruthie and Lydia are helping, course they won't get any credit or acknowledgement or it.  Josh's jeans need to be patched, why aren't they since the women are such great sewers?

That’s probably his “play clothing.” I don’t bother sewing up holes in my children’s play clothing. It’s usually not worth my time.

[Bethy]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think the biggest reason why they all flipped over Nathan leaving was because it was the first. It was all so new to them. They hadn’t experienced it and didn’t know how often they would see him. But they likely soon realized they still saw him often since he lived so close. The youngest 5 kids were all still underage so I can’t blame kids for flipping out about their oldest brother leaving. It’s Steve and Teri that would make me side eye. 

^^This. What was weird to me from their writeup of it (this was pre-blog but it was hanging out on the archives of their site for years...IDK if it's still there but should be available on the Wayback) was how Steve and Teri made such a big deal about how they had agreed to shut off their thought process about Nathan's leaving to get through the day without showing emotion, and then they all broke down at home. The extreme emphasis on not showing emotion during the day vs. completely coming unglued at night was...weird.

[Alisamer]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

 Josh's jeans need to be patched, why aren't they since the women are such great sewers?

I wouldn't patch those. The rip we can see is at the knee, and it's summer. Plus people pay extra for jeans with holes just like that! And he's a kid - he'll either wear them right out again or outgrow them quickly. 

Now if one of the Maxwell girls had ripped her long denim skirt in such a way that her knee was visible, they'd probably be frantically covering it, photoshopping it out of any photos, and praying that nobody got defrauded. Somebody would eventually patch it, probably in an obvious way, and then a few months after she'd outgrown it there'd be a blog post about how clever they were to put a patch over a hole in a skirt.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 hours ago, fundiefan said:

I believe it was Nathan. When he got married & moved across the back yard, they cried like he'd died as he was no longer part of the family. 

At least that is the one they wrote about. 

I wonder if it was obsessive weeping with Jesse, being the last boy and all? When Nathan left, they at least still had four boys at home to keep under their thumb. Now, with Jesse gone, it's only the girls left at home. 

Today they're rambling about making boys into men because Steve has Joshua hanging at his side while he "works". Because, you know, no tire changing or tree trimming for the girls. They need to stay inside & dust ceiling fans & polish cabinets. Boys get to do manly men stuff from a young age.

Their world is so damn narrow it's painful to see sometimes. 

And Hyles-Anderson - if you have a penis, you can study Media. Not if you have a vagina though. 

*Oh, I'm wrong. Girls can study media. They just have their own special, female program. 

Thanks.  I definitely remember something about Joseph and how his house was almost a mile away.  There may not have been weeping acknowledged, but I could swear Sarah wrote something that was so low key dramatic I wondered if she had any idea how close the house was.  

[Lady Grass Lake]

I have another take on the having a companion along when doing outside work.  He's Steve's new work partner, now that he's lost all of his regular male helpers.  Knowing Steve's health as well, it could be just having someone around to fetch things or run for help. 

 

 My husband has been known to see a tree down somewhere on the way home, never come in the house, just grabs the the chain saw and tools and heads back out.   He comes home later with a huge truckload of wood.  His work hours are erratic, so I don't expect him at a specific time.  I got mad and yelled because he didn't let anyone know what he was doing.  He didn't think it was a big deal.  I countered with he could get hurt and he just told me he was careful and I was being over dramatic.  

Later on at a family party, he was telling his Dad I was bitching at him because I wanted him to tell where he was going ALL THE TIME.   His Dad chimed in with, yeah, his wife was also a nosy nag and had to know where he was going.   I don't need an exact itinerary or need a reason why he's going someplace, it's just common courtesy between spouses.  We had a friend die when he was out cutting wood by himself, a branch fell on his head and killed him.   I calmly explained that I wasn't tracking his every move,  I just wanted to know where to start looking for his body.   If someone disappears, you have to wait 7 years before they can be declared dead and that would mean I couldn't get his life insurance until then.  I just want to know where to look so it shortens the wait because we had young kids at the time.  You should have seen the looks on their faces.   Got my point across.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

On 6/15/2020 at 10:27 AM, Bethy said:

Good catch on the necklace. Looks like the same shirt in both pictures, just layered with a short-sleeve cardi in the shower picture. The necklace itself, incidentally, clinched it for me that it couldn't possibly be a Max daughter. They don't wear necklaces at all, much less eye traps on the bust like that!

That necklace was made by Allison Bontrager! Steve’s own son married into a family that makes eye traps for money! She may as well be selling porn!!!

[kpmom]

5 hours ago, narsunet said:

I asked why the girls weren't invited to learn with grandpa too.....not expecting that comment to get through! Makes me so mad!

It's always been so obvious that Steve has a preference for Joshua, the first grandson.  Never have I seen pictures of him working one on one with any of the granddaughters.  He plays games with them, along with Teri on their special birthday visits, but never have I seen pictures of him working outside or on a special project with them.

[HermioneSparrow]

34 minutes ago, kpmom said:

It's always been so obvious that Steve has a preference for Joshua, the first grandson.  Never have I seen pictures of him working one on one with any of the granddaughters.  He plays games with them, along with Teri on their special birthday visits, but never have I seen pictures of him working outside or on a special project with them.

Or just having one on one time doing anything with his granddaughters unless Teri is there also maybe playing board games or something. He despise women so it's not a surprise he prefers Joshua.

[Jana814]

1 hour ago, kpmom said:

It's always been so obvious that Steve has a preference for Joshua, the first grandson.  Never have I seen pictures of him working one on one with any of the granddaughters.  He plays games with them, along with Teri on their special birthday visits, but never have I seen pictures of him working outside or on a special project with them.

I’ve noticed that. He’s the first male grandchild obviously he’s Steve’s favorite. 

[Melissa1977]

6 hours ago, SPHASH said:

Looks like Ruthie and Lydia are helping, course they won't get any credit or acknowledgement or it.  Josh's jeans need to be patched, why aren't they since the women are such great sewers?

Joshua is clearly Steve's favourite grandchild. I suppose he wanted a boy so badly. But the other boys seem to be forgotten.

[SPHASH]

Definitely Joshua is Steve's favorite although the younger grandboys would be too young to help Steve out with projects like that with the possible exception of Drew.  Axton, Caleb, and Simon are infants.  Danny, Benji, and Kyle are still toddlers.  But yeah there aren't many pics of Steve cuddling or playing with the other grandkids and there's been plenty of him and Josh doing things together.  I remember a post where Steve got Joshua who was about two at the time a toy chainsaw but nothing for the ABC girls.

Edited June 17, 2020 by SPHASH
ETA

[Jana814]

55 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Definitely Joshua is Steve's favorite although the younger grandboys would be too young to help Steve out with projects like that with the possible exception of Drew.  Axton, Caleb, and Simon are infants.  Danny, Benji, and Kyle are still toddlers.  But yeah there aren't many pics of Steve cuddling or playing with the other grandkids and there's been plenty of him and Josh doing things together.  I remember a post where Steve got Joshua who was about two at the time a toy chainsaw but nothing for the ABC girls.

I noticed that too. I remember seeing pictures of Steve with at least Abby & Bethany before Joshua came along but all of that stopped the moment Josh came along. 

[courtlylove]

8 hours ago, Alisamer said:

Now if one of the Maxwell girls had ripped her long denim skirt in such a way that her knee was visible, they'd probably be frantically covering it, photoshopping it out of any photos, and praying that nobody got defrauded. Somebody would eventually patch it, probably in an obvious way, and then a few months after she'd outgrown it there'd be a blog post about how clever they were to put a patch over a hole in a skirt.

But it would be scheduled to the death - a la Teri's button sewing saga.

[FloraKitty35]

11 hours ago, SPHASH said:

why aren't they since the women are such great sewers?

If I recall, Mary really enjoyed sewing so Steve limited her doing it because she was making an idol of it. Oh, & I see that I am savoring two animal crackers, yum.

Edited June 18, 2020 by FloraKitty35
added more to post

[Jana814]

28 minutes ago, FloraKitty35 said:

If I recall, Mary really enjoyed sewing so Steve limited her doing it because she was making an idol of it. Oh, & I see that I am savoring two animal crackers, yum.

The only thing that Steve doesn’t make an idol of is the Bible. Mary was probably in his eyes sewing to much instead of reading the Bible. The kids only do what Steve wants them to do. They’ve been doing it for years, they don’t know anything else. 

[CyborgKin]

"We have sought to involve our sons in projects as they grow up."

- Single Sarah Maxwell, using the 'my father and brothers' definition of 'we'.

Oh and in the comments a single mother asks what she can do as she cannot be both a mother and a father to her sons, and Steve replied 'Understand.  Email us'.

 

 

On 6/17/2020 at 5:01 AM, allyisyourpally5 said:

Don’t apologise, I’m very easily confused! ??

Besides that Twitter one is exactly what I could see a Maxwell hanging in their home. Just a reminder about being miserable.....

and

On 6/17/2020 at 6:32 AM, Giraffe said:

@CyborgKin, That’s why I was confused about it, too. It’s absolutely something they could have!

Well I was definitely meaning it as a dig at the Maxwells.  But I think for them to actually have such a sign hanging in their home they would need a much better sense of humour than I credit them with.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

15 hours ago, FloraKitty35 said:

If I recall, Mary really enjoyed sewing so Steve limited her doing it because she was making an idol of it. Oh, & I see that I am savoring two animal crackers, yum.

Please tell me you washed those crackers down with Pepsi. Steve must like coffee though--it hasn't yet been forbidden and they gush about it a lot

[HerNameIsBuffy]

15 hours ago, CyborgKin said:

"We have sought to involve our sons in projects as they grow up."

- Single Sarah Maxwell, using the 'my father and brothers' definition of 'we'.

I think she's just as entitled to refer to Joe, John, and Jesse as her sons as Steve and Teri are.  She sacrificed herself to raise them.

[Jana814]

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I think she's just as entitled to refer to Joe, John, and Jesse as her sons as Steve and Teri are.  She sacrificed herself to raise them.

She definitely did. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

3 hours ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

it hasn't yet been forbidden and they gush about it a lot

I don't think they will ever forbid coffee.  Once the weirdness of Maxhell wears off (and for them a moot point as S & T created it and the kids raised in it) it's a very, very boring place.

Mainlining coffee would be the only way to stay awake between such exciting assignments as cabinet wiping, and reading the bible for the 1000th time that week.

[SassyPants]

1 hour ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I don't think they will ever forbid coffee.  Once the weirdness of Maxhell wears off (and for them a moot point as S & T created it and the kids raised in it) it's a very, very boring place.

Mainlining coffee would be the only way to stay awake between such exciting assignments as cabinet wiping, and reading the bible for the 1000th time that week.

You’d think with the stimulant label attached to coffee, that coffee would have been one of the first items on Steve’s Banned IDOL Item List. Steve must really love his cup o’ joe!

[anjulibai]

23 hours ago, SPHASH said:

Definitely Joshua is Steve's favorite although the younger grandboys would be too young to help Steve out with projects like that with the possible exception of Drew.  Axton, Caleb, and Simon are infants.  Danny, Benji, and Kyle are still toddlers.  But yeah there aren't many pics of Steve cuddling or playing with the other grandkids and there's been plenty of him and Josh doing things together.  I remember a post where Steve got Joshua who was about two at the time a toy chainsaw but nothing for the ABC girls.

Taking Joshua around started when he was pretty young, though, at least by about the age that Danny is now. Steve definitely doesn't spend as much time with Drew or Danny, and he hasn't shown much interest in Ben or Kyle. We'll see if that ever changes, but I expect the pattern will continue. Steve seems to think that firstborn sons that are also firstborn children are extra special.