Maxwell 51: Empty Nesters, Empty Vesters? End of an Era

[Caroline]

On 12/11/2021 at 10:30 PM, Coconut Flan said:

have to comment and laugh a bit.  I live in southern California and we have "snow" making machines that work in 60 degree weather.

I live in a snowy New England state, but I love that current car commercial where the mom and kids pull up to their house in an obviously very dry, sunny environment and the dad (?) is making snow.  Their house and yard are covered in snow and the kids' reactions are so cute.  You know it's California because the song mentions being a native Californian.  It's cute.  Merry Christmas!  It's definitely a snowy Christmas Eve where I live.

[BigSandy]

I had really thought the Maxwells might post something for Christmas, even just a generic photo with weirdly-italicized Bible verses! It is so strange but after all the absolute garbage of the recent Duggar happenings, I almost miss the Maxwells. I hope they are having a fun Christmas with lot of hilarious memories of cheese paper and salt-fly-shooters!!

[Bethy]

On 12/18/2021 at 10:23 AM, louannems said:

I also wish the bad posture would go away.

Posture improvement would be a huge step for them, and here's why: after years of slumping and trying to hide their womanly form, if they started standing straight and squaring their shoulders, it would feel like they were sticking their chests out which could possibly cause a man to stumble.

Signing on for a lifetime of back pain from poor posture seems like a lousy trade-off for most of us but to girls raised in a toxic stew of patriarchy and modesty culture, it's just seen as part of the suffering women have to deal with - if they even make the connection.

[fundiewatch]

I really can’t believe that we don’t have a FB friend of one of them, or a church friend, or an ABC classmate just giving us a few innocuous updates. Just a picture of an event. A lovely Christmas Eve gathering. I feel a little salty. Aren’t there neighbors who would send us a caroling snap? Denied. And that’s fair. But I’m FundieWatch and I am filled with longing. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

9 minutes ago, fundiewatch said:

I really can’t believe that we don’t have a FB friend of one of them, or a church friend, or an ABC classmate just giving us a few innocuous updates. Just a picture of an event. A lovely Christmas Eve gathering. I feel a little salty. Aren’t there neighbors who would send us a caroling snap? Denied. And that’s fair. But I’m FundieWatch and I am filled with longing. 

They are probably home for Christmas break so they aren’t seeing their classmates right now. The most we can hope for will be more pictures of them in the ABC FB page. 

Ok I’ll make you guys in withdrawal feel better. Their friend posted a photo dump on FB of fall semester at ABC and posted this pic. Look at all that food! More than 2 animal crackers.

[BigSandy]

Oooh thank you! FUN to see the "girls" having FUN!

[fundiewatch]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Ok I’ll make you guys in withdrawal feel better. Their friend posted a photo dump…

this is the best Monday update ever. Screw your Steve. 
 

Genuflecting backwards. Needed this magic. 😆 

Just now, fundiewatch said:

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

They are probably home for Christmas break so they aren’t seeing their classmates right now. The most we can hope for will be more pictures of them in the ABC FB page. 

Ok I’ll make you guys in withdrawal feel better. Their friend posted a photo dump on FB of fall semester at ABC and posted this pic. Look at all that food! More than 2 animal cracker

Expand  

 

Adding in now that I’ve botched the quote… I really appreciate that ABC, for all their weirdness, are a good fit in terms of forcing these teenage girls in women bodies into the dorms. They are at that stage, and now they are living it. Bringing friends home from the dorms, going to church members homes etc. It’s nice to see them enjoying all the magic of 19. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by fundiewatch
3 drinks in, smoking on porch + bad at tech

[usmcmom]

Hold on. Is that an apartment? Are the women’s dorms set up with kitchenettes? The caption says “Breakfast at the Maxwells…” which I assume means Mary and Anna are living together. Maybe they have a little apartment instead of living in a residence hall. 
 

Curiouser and curiouser. 

[Black Aliss]

4 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

They are probably home for Christmas break so they aren’t seeing their classmates right now. The most we can hope for will be more pictures of them in the ABC FB page. 

Ok I’ll make you guys in withdrawal feel better. Their friend posted a photo dump on FB of fall semester at ABC and posted this pic. Look at all that food! More than 2 animal crackers.

That's not the fathership. It looks like an apartment kitchen. Maybe Anna and Mary aren't living in the dorm after all; rather they have their own apartment? Please tell me that's not Mary on the right with new sharpie eyebrows.

[church_of_dog]

2 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

That's not the fathership. It looks like an apartment kitchen. Maybe Anna and Mary aren't living in the dorm after all; rather they have their own apartment? Please tell me that's not Mary on the right with new sharpie eyebrows.

Anna is wearing an apron, further confirmation she was cooking at her current home.  And yes, that's Mary on the right, with make-up on!

[fundiefan]

Definitely an apartment kitchen. And it looks like Mary got makeup lessons from Chelsy with that heavy eyeliner. But, hey, it's makeup she chose so more power to her.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think there are married student apartments on campus. Maybe they are allowed those because they are older. 

[Bethy]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think there are married student apartments on campus. Maybe they are allowed those because they are older. 

I brought this up when we first learned they'd gone to college in the fall. At my fundie-lite college, students below a certain age (and I feel like the cutoff was around 24-25) had to live in the dorms, but older students could not. If you think about it - especially in terms of traditional fundie college students - a 28-year-old is going to have precious little in common with an 17/18-year-old who's away from home for the first time, and might even have "worldly wisdom" and experiences that could be viewed as a negative influence on an impressionable teen heading to college for the first time.

OBVIOUSLY the Maxwells are the exception to that rule...they were probably MORE sheltered and naive than most of their 18-year-old classmates. If I had to guess I'd say that Anna's advanced age qualified her to live off-campus, and if Mary is still in the "must live in the dorm" age bracket, there may be an exception for a younger student who's living with family (a college friend of mine dodged dorm life entirely by living with an older sibling still in the college area.) The fact that they went in as students with a significant portion of their degree completed online also means they're not technically freshmen. Students like the Maxgirls - who are resourceful, hardworking, and good in the kitchen - can save a boatload of money by living off-campus. They know how to grocery shop, cook, use leftovers, etc., and won't be subsisting on pizza delivery and expensive convenience foods.

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 minute ago, Bethy said:

I brought this up when we first learned they'd gone to college in the fall. At my fundie-lite college, students below a certain age (and I feel like the cutoff was around 24-25) had to live in the dorms, but older students could not. If you think about it - especially in terms of traditional fundie college students - a 28-year-old is going to have precious little in common with an 17/18-year-old who's away from home for the first time, and might even have "worldly wisdom" and experiences that could be viewed as a negative influence on an impressionable teen heading to college for the first time.

OBVIOUSLY the Maxwells are the exception to that rule...they were probably MORE sheltered and naive than most of their 18-year-old classmates. If I had to guess I'd say that Anna's advanced age qualified her to live off-campus, and if Mary is still in the "must live in the dorm" age bracket, there may be an exception for a younger student who's living with family (a college friend of mine dodged dorm life entirely by living with an older sibling still in the college area.) The fact that they went in as students with a significant portion of their degree completed online also means they're not technically freshmen. Students like the Maxgirls - who are resourceful, hardworking, and good in the kitchen - can save a boatload of money by living off-campus. They know how to grocery shop, cook, use leftovers, etc., and won't be subsisting on pizza delivery and expensive convenience foods.

If they get a small apartment on campus, I could see the younger students in dorms walking over to the Maxwell apartment to enjoy a bigger space with a kitchen and socializing. I would be doing that if I lived in a dorm and a friend lived in an apartment nearby.

[Paperplate]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think there are married student apartments on campus. Maybe they are allowed those because they are older. 

 

5 minutes ago, Bethy said:

I brought this up when we first learned they'd gone to college in the fall. At my fundie-lite college, students below a certain age (and I feel like the cutoff was around 24-25) had to live in the dorms, but older students could not. If you think about it - especially in terms of traditional fundie college students - a 28-year-old is going to have precious little in common with an 17/18-year-old who's away from home for the first time, and might even have "worldly wisdom" and experiences that could be viewed as a negative influence on an impressionable teen heading to college for the first time.

OBVIOUSLY the Maxwells are the exception to that rule...they were probably MORE sheltered and naive than most of their 18-year-old classmates. If I had to guess I'd say that Anna's advanced age qualified her to live off-campus, and if Mary is still in the "must live in the dorm" age bracket, there may be an exception for a younger student who's living with family (a college friend of mine dodged dorm life entirely by living with an older sibling still in the college area.) The fact that they went in as students with a significant portion of their degree completed online also means they're not technically freshmen. Students like the Maxgirls - who are resourceful, hardworking, and good in the kitchen - can save a boatload of money by living off-campus. They know how to grocery shop, cook, use leftovers, etc., and won't be subsisting on pizza delivery and expensive convenience foods.

 

3 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

If they get a small apartment on campus, I could see the younger students in dorms walking over to the Maxwell apartment to enjoy a bigger space with a kitchen and socializing. I would be doing that if I lived in a dorm and a friend lived in an apartment nearby.

ABC does have married student housing but the houses are rather large (3 or 5 bedrooms, more suited for families with children; no apartments) so I’m not sure if that’s where Anna and Mary live. That kitchen looks small for a family home but the space itself seems large, so I’m not sure. The table apparently seats four though.

Spoiler

I had imagined them to be sharing a dorm room. The women’s dorm at ABC has a kitchen but again that kitchen looks too small for that, I think. ABC also generally does not allow single students to live off-campus (regardless of age, it seems).

So do they live in town with special permission? RENTING an apartment?!? With separate bedrooms?

[Bethy]

11 minutes ago, Paperplate said:

I had imagined them to be sharing a dorm room. The women’s dorm at ABC has a kitchen but again that kitchen looks too small for that, I think. ABC also generally does not allow single students to live off-campus (regardless of age, it seems).

So do they live in town with special permission? RENTING an apartment?!? With separate bedrooms?

Could it be someone they're connected to from their days with the dog and pony show, renting out a basement apartment so they can stay away from the worldly influence of the dorm? Or maybe a connection through the pastor of their new church? Maybe you can't just go to ABC and get an apartment in town for the heck of it, but if you have a family friend or relative there you can live with them and avoid the dorm?

[HereticHick]

It is possible that ABC wasn't able to fill all their married student housing units this year and are letting unmarried students live there as well. If so, Anna and Mary probably have at least 1 other roommate.

 

My favorite line from the Tenant Handbook for the ABC married student housing  complex (which is called Appalachian Village):

"To maintain a pure testimony, do not invite a single person of the opposite sex to your residence when your spouse is not home. Do not leave a single couple by themselves in your place of residence."

[fundiewatch]

I just spent way too much time on the Appalachian Bible College website. The family village is adjacent to this outdoor adventure camp/ministry and I wonder if that’s where Anna and Mary spent their summers. Then eased into online classes— ABC even requires real church membership, so their evening services with Nathan’s family pre-COVID were probably required to be logged online. Nursing home probably would not count. Then bam, moving across country. What a world! It looks like married students are asked/required to host and show hospitality— they’d be great at that. 2022 may have some surprises for us! 
 

(Plot twist, they got married in a double wedding over thanksgiving but no one told us. Ridiculous fan fiction— it’s much better this way!)

[JermajestyDuggar]

ABC seems to have fun outdoor recreational activities. 

[CyborgKin]

I just happened to pop onto FJ for the first time in quite a while and looked at this thread first and there's news!  Thank you!

Well, a photo to speculate over and make up news about, which is even more fun.

[Sops2]

The person who wrote the tenant handbook sure got their knickers in a twist about this

[JermajestyDuggar]

The married couples housing looks like they are mostly duplexes. Which are technically apartments. That kitchen could be a duplex kitchen. 

[HereticHick]

2 hours ago, fundiewatch said:

I just spent way too much time on the Appalachian Bible College website. The family village is adjacent to this outdoor adventure camp/ministry and I wonder if that’s where Anna and Mary spent their summers. Then eased into online classes— ABC even requires real church membership, so their evening services with Nathan’s family pre-COVID were probably required to be logged online. Nursing home probably would not count. Then bam, moving across country. What a world! It looks like married students are asked/required to host and show hospitality— they’d be great at that. 2022 may have some surprises for us! (

The idea that Alpine Ministries (ABC's outdoor camp) is where Anna and Mary have been working on their mysterious summer "mission trips" is an intriguing one. We know they are experienced hikers and with babysitting a passel of nieces and nephews.  They might pop up in a past photos of Alpine Ministries activities.

[Howl]

3 hours ago, Sops2 said:

The person who wrote the tenant handbook sure got their knickers in a twist about this

This is so HMO persnickety. 

[louannems]

11 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Definitely an apartment kitchen. And it looks like Mary got makeup lessons from Chelsy with that heavy eyeliner. But, hey, it's makeup she chose so more power to her.

My college dorm, way back when, did have one communal kitchen.  We all ate our meals in the cafeteria but sometimes someone would whip up a snack or meal in the kitchen.