Maxwell 50: Maxhell Has Frozen Over. Anna and Mary Are Off to College and Sarah Moves Out!

[HermioneSparrow]

what the hell? I'm in shock! IMO, they're trying to get those girls married, double shock! Lol

[JermajestyDuggar]

Me over here:

[nelliebelle1197]

5 hours ago, Fun-Dee said:

So of course I had to go check out the photos on the facebook page. There is a picture of a group of guys playing tug of war in the gym with a crowd watching.  If I am seeing right, Anna and Mary are in the crowd, and Mary is wearing shorts!  They are right above the guy on the right, who is wearing a sleeveless gray shirt.  

 

Bring that photo over here so it can be dissected, examined and ripped apart.

[JermajestyDuggar]

[SPHASH]

7 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

That's scary, not a single mask in sight.

[Destiny]

WHAT ARE THEY DOING???? THAT COULD BE FUN! FUN IS UNACCEPTABLE.

Re: picture, I think there's a 85% chance you are right, but it's hard to tell on my phone screen.

Just now, SPHASH said:

That's scary, not a single mask in sight.

Ooh, point. For a blessed few minutes I forgot the world was utter shit while I was lost in the wonder of change in Maxhell, but yeah, this is NOT a good idea. At all.

[petrushka]

My random thoughts:

 The brothers were heavily involved with this decision to let Anna and Mary go away.  Even though the older two benefitted from the free babysitting, they may have realized their sisters' chances of marriage were slim to none unless they got away for a while. I don't think Christopher and Nathan want to be responsible for all of them should Steve pass away soon.   With advancing age and health concerns, Steve may have lost some of the fire in his belly for extreme isolation.

I would be surprised if they got to stay there long enough to complete a batchelor's degree.  I predict two years at best.

 The school offers academic support.  Good thing.  I don't believe for a minute that Maxwell SOTDRT prepared them at all for college of any kind.

So now all the "reversal" Maxwells are far less isolated than Steve mandated.  Something to think about, eh?

 

[fundiefan]

Holy crap. I had a good night's rest and felt sufficiently recovered from the shock & vapors of them leaving the fathership.

Now, they are at an athletic event, in shorts. Laughing & smiling - for a rope pull that is not exactly something that glorifies their god. 

While I am very clearly celebrating this major development - more major than all the boy's weddings; more epic than all the babies - I will seriously lose a freaking gasket if they every separate from each other. In a way it looks kind of sad with the two of them in their own group in the crowd. Baby steps, I know, but now that they've gotten this giant taste of real life, I want to see them experience it all! Do something without their sister, or at least not only their sister. Nah, it has to be without the sister. Just Anna or Mary, with a group of people, laughing & having fun. 

They probably feel secure with each other, which is understandable with their sheltered, isolated lives. And the semester has only just begun and there is time. I just really hope they get more out of this experience than a specific bible centric education. 

And holy crap, education. For realz, education for a Maxwell. Yeah, it's bible college, but it's a brick & mortar building with staff & live students & classes & experiences & obtaining information their father never would have given them or even known to give them.

I wonder what degrees they've chosen? 

And I'll stop there because all the questions from yesterday are being overcrowded with all the new questions none of can answer. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Holy crap. I had a good night's rest and felt sufficiently recovered from the shock & vapors of them leaving the fathership.

Now, they are at an athletic event, in shorts. Laughing & smiling - for a rope pull that is not exactly something that glorifies their god. 

While I am very clearly celebrating this major development - more major than all the boy's weddings; more epic than all the babies - I will seriously lose a freaking gasket if they every separate from each other. In a way it looks kind of sad with the two of them in their own group in the crowd. Baby steps, I know, but now that they've gotten this giant taste of real life, I want to see them experience it all! Do something without their sister, or at least not only their sister. Nah, it has to be without the sister. Just Anna or Mary, with a group of people, laughing & having fun. 

They probably feel secure with each other, which is understandable with their sheltered, isolated lives. And the semester has only just begun and there is time. I just really hope they get more out of this experience than a specific bible centric education. 

And holy crap, education. For realz, education for a Maxwell. Yeah, it's bible college, but it's a brick & mortar building with staff & live students & classes & experiences & obtaining information their father never would have given them or even known to give them.

I wonder what degrees they've chosen? 

And I'll stop there because all the questions from yesterday are being overcrowded with all the new questions none of can answer. 

My guess is early childhood education degrees for both. 

[gracegrace]

OMG. Two Maxwell women on a college campus. I am so happy for them both! Just the chance to meet new people and get out of the eternal auntie role must be so exciting. 
 

Whether or not this ever gets acknowledged on the blog, it’s a lovely thing for Anna and Mary. And also for Abbie, since she might also get a chance to see a bigger world! 

[postscript]

7 hours ago, KnittingOwl said:

What if they put MEAT in their burritos?!

 

ETA: that sounds way dirtier than I meant it. I literally meant ground beef with their retried beans. 😆

I read that as “bumbos” at first. “Meat in their bumbos” sounds really dirty. 

Wow, this is unexpected. I wonder what kind of drama went on behind the scenes. I’m sure there was some. Even with the ultra-conservative religious atmosphere, even if it’s only a year or two with the hope the girls meet suitable young men, what a great opportunity! They’ll be exposed to at least limited differing viewpoints, and they’ll meet people outside of their family bubble. 

[Bethy]

Someone said they were online students previously and were on the dean's list, though I haven't found that info myself. 

Someone else speculated that this might be the organization through which they did their missions trips. I don't know the answer to that one way or another (most colleges that do overseas missions - and I'm assuming it was overseas, since they left/returned on an airplane that summer - send only current students) but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if their connection to ABC came as a direct result of that trip. ABC is really, super legalistic about things like music, their dress code is stricter than most colleges are today, and it doesn't appear they allow one-on-one dating or any public displays of affection (even hand-holding) on or off campus. So Steve and Teri would feel better about that than they might at a college that doesn't legislate those things. If they're majoring in education, they're going to have to go to campus for some of their learning - you can't do student teaching on a computer. (Well, I mean, people did during the pandemic, but it was WAY less than ideal.) They might also be majoring in Bible/missions. I'm wondering now how long they've been at this, and whether that housing-project Bible class they taught for kids was a school project. Often, people who are taking online coursework of that sort are required to set up a Bible study group or kids' class of their own, and report back to the university with their progress.

It will be eye-opening for them to actually be on campus, however; one of the biggest things in one's college experience is learning that other people have beliefs, values, and ways of doing things that differ from the way you were raised, and sorting out what you want to do with that information. Anna is nearly 29 and, apart from some of the reversal brothers getting wives with pants or buying a house that may or may not include a mortgage, she hasn't ever been in a setting where her dear old dad's beliefs and teachings would be questioned. This is SUCH a good opportunity for them (and also, I peeped their student handbook and they do require all non-local single students to live in the dorm, so it appears they'll be entering dorm life with only each other as "home base") but it's going to be REALLY difficult for them. In college I remember arguing with roommates over differing ways our respective parents had taught us to cook spaghetti - so I can imagine some very interesting discussions are in store for the girls. I just hope they can find folks who will be patient with them while they grow and not write them off as weird geriatric legalists undeserving of friendships.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Bethy
incomplete thought

[petrushka]

12 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

 

I wonder what degrees they've chosen? 

 

Don't know if they have been given the luxury of making their own choices.  I'll guess that Steve would allow only for the bible certificate.  What they really need for starters is the A.A. General Education Core classes.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I have to say, this college looks less strict than Crown! Look through their FB page and you’ll see tons of shorts on girls and very tight jeans. I even saw short shorts! You would never see that on the Crown FB page. 

Edited September 6, 2021 by JermajestyDuggar

[Bethy]

Just now, petrushka said:

Don't know if they have been given the luxury of making their own choices.  I'll guess that Steve would allow only for the bible certificate.  What they really need for starters is the A.A. General Education Core classes.

But they could likely get the entire Bible certificate online. The fact that they're going to campus tells me that either they're in a program like education that's going to require some in-person practicum, or else they're just really desperately shopping for husbands.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Just now, Bethy said:

But they could likely get the entire Bible certificate online. The fact that they're going to campus tells me that either they're in a program like education that's going to require some in-person practicum, or else they're just really desperately shopping for husbands.

I would like to see them teaching at some Christian school after they graduate. A real job with a real salary of their own. 

[anachronistic]

I read the handbook and it appears very, very strict to me, like with specific dress codes for everything, lights out at certain times, and very strict attendance policies for everything. You have to report to the college if you’re sick but that will still get you an unexused, not excused, absence. Basically if Steve designed a college this might be it.

I imagine the conversation about them needing to get away was about as comfortable as the one I had with one of my older siblings about how they will need to step in and act as my money manager / helper when my mom can no longer do it. Very necessary but very awkward, nobody actually wants to talk about it.

I am quite shocked that there isn’t a single bit about covid I could find in their website. Every college in my area (Massachusetts) that I know of requires both vaccinations and masking, and many add testing, too. I’m guessing that ABC requires neither. I hope Anna and Mary’s first year away isn’t disrupted by them shutting the school down when cases shoot up, but I fear that may be the case. 

[Captain Obvious]

16 minutes ago, Bethy said:

But they could likely get the entire Bible certificate online. The fact that they're going to campus tells me that either they're in a program like education that's going to require some in-person practicum, or else they're just really desperately shopping for husbands.

If the aim is to find husbands there would be much better choices out there. This college is tiny, only 250 students, so probably only a little more than 100 potential suitors, and almost none in their age range since Mary is 25 and Anna 28. 

At least go somewhere with a decent number of graduate students (according to Wiki the school has some), but the numbers must be really small and I bet any older male student is married anyway.

So my theory is Steve is still in the A Godly Husband Is Going to Fall from the Sky mode, and the reasons they are attending are purely educational - probably due to the practicum requirements of an elementary education program. They picked the school because it was online, cheap and sufficiently fundie, and now they are attending for no more than a year or so. 

ETA: Actually I'm probably wrong. According to their website, only bible studies are available online. So that's probably what they're studying. Which is... fine I guess but I'm struggling to see why Steve would agree to the cost and time away when there would be closer options. 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Captain Obvious

[fundiefan]

6 minutes ago, anachronistic said:

I read the handbook and it appears very, very strict to me, like with specific dress codes for everything, lights out at certain times, and very strict attendance policies for everything. You have to report to the college if you’re sick but that will still get you an unexused, not excused, absence. Basically if Steve designed a college this might be it.

I imagine the conversation about them needing to get away was about as comfortable as the one I had with one of my older siblings about how they will need to step in and act as my money manager / helper when my mom can no longer do it. Very necessary but very awkward, nobody actually wants to talk about it.

I am quite shocked that there isn’t a single bit about covid I could find in their website. Every college in my area (Massachusetts) that I know of requires both vaccinations and masking, and many add testing, too. I’m guessing that ABC requires neither. I hope Anna and Mary’s first year away isn’t disrupted by them shutting the school down when cases shoot up, but I fear that may be the case. 

They do have a COVID response page, but it hasn't been updated since April.

I guess for Christians, the pandemic ended by May. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

The Staddons live in WV but they live in a different part of the state so they aren’t very close to ABC. I’m not sure how much their paths will cross. I’ve always said the Staddons would be the best matches for the Maxwell girls. 

[nelliebelle1197]

I have the vapors. I see Maxwell knees. 

[gracegrace]

18 minutes ago, Bethy said:

But they could likely get the entire Bible certificate online. The fact that they're going to campus tells me that either they're in a program like education that's going to require some in-person practicum, or else they're just really desperately shopping for husbands.

I honestly don’t care why they are there. This may sound weird, because I work in higher ed myself and I’m all too aware of the intellectual weaknesses of bible colleges. But for these two, what matter most is that they get out. They’ve done something brave, no matter why they did it.

Meet other people. Do something besides answering tech support calls for Nathan and spreading mulch. Hang out with people who’ve watched PG rated movies and read books with talking animals and disobedient kids. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Just now, gracegrace said:

I honestly don’t care why they are there. This may sound weird, because I work in higher ed myself and I’m all too aware of the intellectual weaknesses of bible colleges. But for these two, what matter most is that they get out. They’ve done something brave, no matter why they did it.

Meet other people. Do something besides answering tech support calls for Nathan and spreading mulch. Hang out with people who’ve watched PG rated movies and read books with talking animals and disobedient kids. 

Moving states away from Kansas is huge in my opinion. Even the Bateses made their girls stay home and commute to Crown. 

[HoneyBunny]

I will take the ISB for a spin this morning. I’m wondering if Sarah’s issue (if she actually has one) is a depressive episode exacerbated by the concussion (ask me how I know this can happen). If she is really struggling right now, Steve and Teri may finally be realizing the affect that their sheltering has had in the girls.  Hoping to avoid this with the two youngest, they “allow” them to branch out (To a Bible college.  In West Virginia. Where they will certainly be among the oldest single students there.)

Or else the girls have convinced their dad that they truly have a missionary calling, been their woeful lack of education has stymied their efforts. Knowing he is mortal, and hoping to spread his version of Christianity after his inevitable passing, he decides this is the best way to ensure the continued indoctrination of the world  

1 minute ago, HoneyBunny said:

Edited September 6, 2021 by HoneyBunny

[sleepygirl1]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

That's scary, not a single mask in sight.

That doesn’t surprise me, I was watching some football games on TV last night and there were times I didn’t see a single mask in sight either.

Edited September 6, 2021 by sleepygirl1