Maxwell 52: Retired Vests, Retired Blog, and Retired Maxwells

[fundiefan]

I was pretty certain - with no evidence, just my gut - that Mary & Anna would be counselors this summer. I am glad to sese they are doing so; no proof Mary is going to be a counselor but I'd bet anything she is. So happy they have a reason to stay out of Maxhell for a longer stretch; the longer they're away, the harder it will be for Steve to re-indoctrinate them. The more experiences they have that don't kill them or bring god's wrath, the stronger they will become as individuals. 

Yay for all three of the Maxwell "girls", who are and have been grown adult women for a while but are just now getting to live as such. 

[Bethy]

11 hours ago, HereticHick said:

I wanna know what her maybe special friend Samuel is doing this summer!!!

Haven't we seen pictures of him with a touring singing ensemble? Those often travel throughout the summer to promote the college (with tuition remission in return) so if that's him in those ensemble pics, he's probably going on tour around the country this summer.

[BigSandy]

On 5/10/2022 at 10:16 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

Anna is a counselor this summer! No Maxhell for her! I hope Mary is a counselor too. 

I'm super happy for Anna to be a camp counselor this summer! But I have to laugh as the strange Maxwell way of writing strikes again: "With people come some pretty great adventures." Like, I THINK I know what she means (she likes having adventures with other people?) but also, what a stilted way of writing.

[JermajestyDuggar]

15 hours ago, Bethy said:

Haven't we seen pictures of him with a touring singing ensemble? Those often travel throughout the summer to promote the college (with tuition remission in return) so if that's him in those ensemble pics, he's probably going on tour around the country this summer.

I don’t know if he’s part of the ensemble again. I haven’t seen him singing with them since last summer. 

[SassyPants]

18 minutes ago, BigSandy said:

I'm super happy for Anna to be a camp counselor this summer! But I have to laugh as the strange Maxwell way of writing strikes again: "With people come some pretty great adventures." Like, I THINK I know what she means (she likes having adventures with other people?) but also, what a stilted way of writing.

Don’t forgot, both she and Mary have consistently made the “highest honors” list in terms of marks. I don’t think Teri was a decent teacher. It always seems to me that the Maxwells write in a convoluted style. Readers should not have to constantly be rearranging your words in order to understand the point you’re attempting to be conveyed. It’s as if they intentionally try to make their thoughts more complicated. Just say it the easiest way possible; confusing syntax is useless.

[MamaJunebug]

25 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Don’t forgot, both she and Mary have consistently made the “highest honors” list in terms of marks. I don’t think Teri was a decent teacher. It always seems to me that the Maxwells write in a convoluted style. Readers should not have to constantly be rearranging your words in order to understand the point you’re attempting to be conveyed. It’s as if they intentionally try to make their thoughts more complicated. Just say it the easiest way possible; confusing syntax is useless.

Anna’s sentence reminds me of the leads my contemporaries snd I wrote just out of college and on our first writing jobs.  Our articles were just filler for the trade magazines at the  publishing company that employed us.  
 

We weren’t trying to persuade nor to do any kind of journalistic investigation. Thus our articles tended to be repeats of what we’d written before, and the challenge / enjoyment was in figuring out new, “Interesting” ways of grabbing a reader’s attention. 
 

And we were dumb-young.  22, 23.  Anna is about at that stage in her self-expression, though she’s chronologically pushing 30. She’s just now writing without a parent picking apart every phrase for doctrinal purity (or in our case, an editor-turned-professor scouring our leads for the 5 W’s and the H).  
 

We grew and im going to be optimistic that Anna will, too. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by MamaJunebug

[CyborgKin]

On 5/5/2022 at 2:37 AM, theologygeek said:

Ah, doesn't it feel good to rip off the long dresses and ten layers of clothing and go to the beach?  This is my kind of vacation.  

 

We can't let this pass without addressing the big question: are crabs bugs?

[GreenBeans]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:18 PM, BigSandy said:

I'm super happy for Anna to be a camp counselor this summer! But I have to laugh as the strange Maxwell way of writing strikes again: "With people come some pretty great adventures." Like, I THINK I know what she means (she likes having adventures with other people?) but also, what a stilted way of writing.

But then, again, “cookie dough makes any day better” is the epitome of everything that goes against what Steve Maxwell teaches! I mean, having cookie dough, on any random day, just because (and maybe not even with the primary aim to bake cookies to give away to others serving the lord)? No way that would have happened in Maxhell!

[LurkerOverThePond]

4 hours ago, GreenBeans said:

But then, again, “cookie dough makes any day better” is the epitome of everything that goes against what Steve Maxwell teaches! I mean, having cookie dough, on any random day, just because (and maybe not even with the primary aim to bake cookies to give away to others serving the lord)? No way that would have happened in Maxhell!

But maybe she means animal cracker cookie dough which is holier than normal cookie dough!

[CaptainFunderpants]

14 hours ago, CyborgKin said:

We can't let this pass without addressing the big question: are crabs bugs?

100%, although like spiders they're not insects -crabs and spiders are both arthropods.

Crawdads and lobsters are the cockroaches of the sea.

Can you imagine how gross it would be if a sea cucumber-like creature existed on land? Giant slugs, I can't.

I absolutely could not have survived 100 million years ago with the oxygen rich atmosphere cultivating bugs the size of St. Bernard's and worms eight feet in length and the circumference of manhole covers.

[kpmom]

18 hours ago, GreenBeans said:

But then, again, “cookie dough makes any day better” is the epitome of everything that goes against what Steve Maxwell teaches! I mean, having cookie dough, on any random day, just because (and maybe not even with the primary aim to bake cookies to give away to others serving the lord)? No way that would have happened in Maxhell!

It sounds like fun just for the sake of having fun, doesn't it?

Poor Anna, she's only been away at college for two semesters and she's already forgotten, only Jesus makes any day better!!!

[JermajestyDuggar]

Anna’s team won dodgeball!

[BigSandy]

40 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Anna’s team won dodgeball!

At first I didn't recognize her! She looks so genuinely happy!

[Howl]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Anna’s team won dodgeball!

Harumph! Gratuitous co-mingling!  So much co-mingling. 

So, so happy for those women and so furious that Sarah was robbed of decades of normal teen and adulting years and the option of marriage and kids, if she'd wanted that.  Decades of imprisonment in a relatively small suburban house with a depressed mom and a profoundly neurotic, obsessively controlling dad.  The only good thing is she's finally OUT and in her own home. 

I hope some remnant understanding of what she enjoys blooms within as she actively seeks out more of that, keeps growing in her work at Swift Otter and moves beyond her family role as the obedient daughter and maiden aunt to her nieces and nephews. 

Were we to meet, we'd have zero in common and be  diametrically opposed politically.  Maybe she'd query if I  know where I'm going when I die and if I'd accepted Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior.  And that's OK. I just wish her the best. 

But back to co-mingling.  Sarah will have lots of human interaction via the church.  But in contrast to Appalachian Bible College (where everyone is doing everything together and just HAVING FUN), just a cursory look at the church's website points to men and women being very segregated and with very clearly defined roles.   She'll likely never know that ease of co-mingling with the opposite sex. 

 

 

 

 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

If I were to go to a Christian college, I would probably choose ABC since they seem to have a lot of fun activities. I bet some Christian colleges have few activities like this. Places like Phillip Rod’s Bible college. Even Crown College looks boring compared to this college. I think it’s funny since Steve is so anti-fun. And it looks like he sent his girls to one of the funnest Christian colleges. 

[fundiefan]

Looks like Anna was on a team without Mary. Among all the other steps towards autonomy, that is a big one. Having her sister for support has no doubt helped them both adjust, but I like seeing them separate & find individuality. 

Anna is practically glowing with happiness. I imagine there is a ton of relief as the weight of the world continues to fall off her shoulders and she learns she is no longer bound for hell with every move she makes and life isn't all about death. 

[fundiewatch]

It’ll never ever happen but I wish Anna would write an update to “Am I Going To College?” called “Fuck Yeah I’m Going To College.”

[CaptainFunderpants]

The pinging. The pinging is just so strong.

That said, Anna's potentially special friend also appears to be on the team, on the far left.

[MomJeans]

Reading completely in between the lines from the "Weeds" Dad's Corner article a few weeks ago, Steve did not choose ABC, and is not happy about it.

Which then linked to an old Dad's Corner with this gem:

"There are certain things we just don’t do. For example, we would not even consider going to a movie theater, a professional sporting event of any kind, or amusement parks. For us, there is nothing redeeming about any of those activities, and much that is negative"  https://articles.titus2.com/lawn-care-how-is-your-lawn/

[Bethy]

10 hours ago, Howl said:

Harumph! Gratuitous co-mingling!  So much co-mingling. 

So, so happy for those women and so furious that Sarah was robbed of decades of normal teen and adulting years and the option of marriage and kids, if she'd wanted that.  Decades of imprisonment in a relatively small suburban house with a depressed mom and a profoundly neurotic, obsessively controlling dad.  The only good thing is she's finally OUT and in her own home. 

I hope some remnant understanding of what she enjoys blooms within as she actively seeks out more of that, keeps growing in her work at Swift Otter and moves beyond her family role as the obedient daughter and maiden aunt to her nieces and nephews. 

Were we to meet, we'd have zero in common and be  diametrically opposed politically.  Maybe she'd query if I  know where I'm going when I die and if I'd accepted Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior.  And that's OK. I just wish her the best. 

But back to co-mingling.  Sarah will have lots of human interaction via the church.  But in contrast to Appalachian Bible College (where everyone is doing everything together and just HAVING FUN), just a cursory look at the church's website points to men and women being very segregated and with very clearly defined roles.   She'll likely never know that ease of co-mingling with the opposite sex. 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a tough one...in the fundie-lite circles where I spent time in college, we were actually told to focus on same-sex friendships because "when you are married you will not have any friends of the opposite sex." It took me YEARS (years in the secular workplace, no less) to deprogram that belief. Now some of my dearest friends are men, men I consider brothers - but these are men I know through my workplace, not the church. And Sarah has been so programmed to fear the outside world that I'm not sure I see her forming any friendships with the opposite sex save for a still-single guy in his 30s or a widower that the church people nudge her toward.

However...a year ago, did anybody have "Maxwell girls in college," "Maxwell girls in shorts," or "Maxwell girl winning the dodgeball tournament" on their Maxhell bingo card? So...it could happen.

[CaptainFunderpants]

3 hours ago, Bethy said:

That's a tough one...in the fundie-lite circles where I spent time in college, we were actually told to focus on same-sex friendships because "when you are married you will not have any friends of the opposite sex." It took me YEARS (years in the secular workplace, no less) to deprogram that belief. Now some of my dearest friends are men, men I consider brothers - but these are men I know through my workplace, not the church. And Sarah has been so programmed to fear the outside world that I'm not sure I see her forming any friendships with the opposite sex save for a still-single guy in his 30s or a widower that the church people nudge her toward.

However...a year ago, did anybody have "Maxwell girls in college," "Maxwell girls in shorts," or "Maxwell girl winning the dodgeball tournament" on their Maxhell bingo card? So...it could happen.

And 40 really isn't that old, especially when she doesn't have a lot of the stressors on her body that many 40-year-olds do; no smoking, no drinking, active, solid diet, decent fitness. She could marry a 32 or 34-year-old and they could still have a child or two if that's what she wants.

[Giraffe]

3 hours ago, Bethy said:

That's a tough one...in the fundie-lite circles where I spent time in college, we were actually told to focus on same-sex friendships because "when you are married you will not have any friends of the opposite sex." It took me YEARS (years in the secular workplace, no less) to deprogram that belief. Now some of my dearest friends are men, men I consider brothers - but these are men I know through my workplace, not the church. 

I’m still working on this and I’m almost 42!

[SPHASH]

11 hours ago, fundiewatch said:

It’ll never ever happen but I wish Anna would write an update to “Am I Going To College?” called “Fuck Yeah I’m Going To College.”

If I have some time this week I could write one FJ style.  Will include animal crackers, burritos, and Lolly the Clown.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

54 minutes ago, CaptainFunderpants said:

And 40 really isn't that old, especially when she doesn't have a lot of the stressors on her body that many 40-year-olds do; no smoking, no drinking, active, solid diet, decent fitness. She could marry a 32 or 34-year-old and they could still have a child or two if that's what she wants.

There are no guarantees she could have a child even if she's in good physical health. She also could marry someone closer in age to herself, too. 

[MamaJunebug]

7 hours ago, CaptainFunderpants said:

The pinging. The pinging is just so strong.

That said, Anna's potentially special friend also appears to be on the team, on the far left.

Pinging?  Well.  Anna always seemed sporty to me [\Bend it Like Beckham] [\s]  
 

Do we have an idea if Sarah moved away from the Maxwell Compound in Leavenworth? Records show her and Grandma as owners of a house in the neighborhood.  If she can keep boundaries between that house & Mumsy & Dadsy’s, I guess that’s be all right. 
 

And …. I just thought of Sarah snd her maternal grandma as the characters in a live-action Merge Mansion!  I am officially ATE UP with cultural references today, am not I ???