M is for Mama 18

[JillyO]

6 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Yep. Her oldest turned 18 on the 24th and she immediately left the country. Presumably leaving him a lot of the childcare along with her mom and the other oldest siblings. Happy birthday Ezra! Your mom sucks!

You know what’d be hilarious? If, during his parents’ trip, Ezra realized “whoa, I’m an adult and can do whatever the fuck I want”, packed up his things and got the hell out of dodge. 

I doubt it‘ll happen, but it sure would be awesome. Come on, Ezra, you can do it!

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 hours ago, JillyO said:

You know what’d be hilarious? If, during his parents’ trip, Ezra realized “whoa, I’m an adult and can do whatever the fuck I want”, packed up his things and got the hell out of dodge. 

I doubt it‘ll happen, but it sure would be awesome. Come on, Ezra, you can do it!

Unfortunately Braggie has him locked in. He’s working for Shaun. 

7 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

I wonder how Abbie feels about having an adult son. On the one hand, it's one kid raised. On the other hand, it might make her feel old. She seems like someone who doesn't want to be old. Maybe it's part of the reason for the trip. 

Then again if he went to school, his graduation would be right around the corner. Is he graduating from anything? Will they do anything to mark his new season of life? Is he now old enough to court? 

He graduated last year and they didn’t have a party or anything. 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

9 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Unfortunately Braggie has him locked in. He’s working for Shaun. 

He graduated last year and they didn’t have a party or anything. 

How about courting/marriage, etc.?

[JermajestyDuggar]

16 minutes ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

How about courting/marriage, etc.?

I think they will expect him to do the run of the mill fundie type thing of dating with a purpose of marriage. But I doubt she will encourage him to start anytime soon. She needs him too much. Along with all the other oldest kids. Once the youngest ones are pretty self sufficient, she might let some of them date.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

Run Ezra. Run!!

But I think Braggie has him locked in for at least another 10 years until the twinbies hit teen years.

I fully expect Braggie to manipulate coerce force gently influence one of the older girls to remain SisMom until all the kids are grown and gone and then stay around as the SAHD to take care of aging Braggie and Shaun. 

[0 kids n not countin]

42 minutes ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Run Ezra. Run!!

But I think Braggie has him locked in for at least another 10 years until the twinbies hit teen years.

I fully expect Braggie to manipulate coerce force gently influence one of the older girls to remain SisMom until all the kids are grown and gone and then stay around as the SAHD to take care of aging Braggie and Shaun. 

Braggie age??? Nah, in her mind she'll be a perpetually young, hip, and rad mother, and mother of the bride or mother of the groom if and when the time comes. 🙄  The first mother son dance at her sons' weddings will be that dance she posts on Instagram that she does with Ezra or Simon.😅🙄

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, 0 kids n not countin said:

Braggie age??? Nah, in her mind she'll be a perpetually young, hip, and rad mother, and mother of the bride or mother of the groom if and when the time comes. 🙄  The first mother son dance at her sons' weddings will be that dance she posts on Instagram that she does with Ezra or Simon.😅🙄

She’s my age and I promise I don’t feel young hip or rad! Braggie needs to come to terms with the fact that she’s 41 soon to be 42. And it’s ok to be as uncool as crocs and socks. 

[0 kids n not countin]

29 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She’s my age and I promise I don’t feel young hip or rad! Braggie needs to come to terms with the fact that she’s 41 soon to be 42. And it’s ok to be as uncool as crocs and socks. 

When I was in my 40's I didn't feel that way either, we'll minus "rad" which didn't apply when I was that age since it wasn't a term used in the olden days! 😂  Lol, not sure if anyone, considered me hip/cool when I was in my 20s & 30s, I certainly didn't. 🤣  Now that I'm even older, comfortable shoes are a must and the way to go, wish I had realized that in my 20s, my feet would be much happier now.🙃🤦🏽‍♀️. 

Giving you a high five for your socks and crocks, totally cool imo.😉🙌🏼🧦🐊

Edited May 28 by 0 kids n not countin

[JermajestyDuggar]

17 minutes ago, 0 kids n not countin said:

When I was in my 40's I didn't feel that way either, we'll minus "rad" which didn't apply when I was that age since it wasn't a term used in the olden days! 😂  Lol, not sure if anyone, considered me hip/cool when I was in my 20s & 30s, I certainly didn't. 🤣  Now that I'm even older, comfortable shoes are a must and the way to go, wish I had realized that in my 20s, my feet would be much happier now.🙃🤦🏽‍♀️. 

Giving you a high five for your socks and crocks, totally cool imo.😉🙌🏼🧦🐊

I actually don’t wear crocs. I need even more supportive shoes than crocs. That’s how fucked up my feet are at age 41 🙄

[0 kids n not countin]

17 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I actually don’t wear crocs. I need even more supportive shoes than crocs. That’s how fucked up my feet are at age 41 🙄

Sorry to hear that.😕

Mine are too.🙃

[treehugger]

Guys, give it to me straight.  I'm 34 right now and so far my feet are fine.  Is it going to get this bad in the next 6-7 years?  I need to prepare myself.  

[Xan]

For what it's worth -- my feet were starting to be terrible in my 40's.  Every pair of shoes that I put on eventually hurt.

I'm now in my 70's and am smarter about the kind of shoes I buy.  However, my feet don't hurt nearly as much as they used to hurt.  Also, my knees have somehow improved over the years.  I don't begin to understand it.  I'm just adding it in here so most of you won't feel like you're on a downhill slope.  Sometimes your joints improve.  

[SuperNova]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Unfortunately Braggie has him locked in. He’s working for Shaun. 

It could still happen. I heard from an old friend recently who has a daughter that just finished high school. She worked as many hours as they let high school kids work, paid for her own car, helped with care giving for her dad and brother, managed to graduate with straight A's, AND have an active social life. A few months back, my friend had to go on an over night trip. The second she was gone, her daughter packed all of her stuff into her car, removed her mom from her bank account and walked out without a word to anyone. My friend frantically searched for her but her daughter wouldn't answer her phone, not even from friends because she knew her mother would contact them. Long story short, she eventually found her living four hours away in a city where she knew no one. Poor girl had just had enough of being parentified and snapped. I hope it doesn't come to that for Abbie's kids but sometimes they reach a breaking point and nothing will stop them from leaving. I can't even imagine how bad things must be to throw yourself into the world without a safety net.

Actually, now that I think about it, I do know. I've been on my own since I was 14 but somehow forgot that detail for a minute there.

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, treehugger said:

Guys, give it to me straight.  I'm 34 right now and so far my feet are fine.  Is it going to get this bad in the next 6-7 years?  I need to prepare myself.  

Kids made my feet bigger. If you have kids, be prepared you might go up half a size or a full size. But I didn’t get plantar fasciitis until my 40s. I also got used to not wearing heels and it’s hard to go back once you stop. Just make sure to take care of your feet. Don’t wear shoes that are too small. If a pair of shoes really hurt your feet or back, don’t wear them. And I recommend supportive in soles for shoes you wear the most. But o have really high arches. So that could be part of my need for supportive in soles. 

[marmalade]

I have pretty flat feet, so when I developed plantar fasciitis, I felt like I was walking on a golf ball. I had to have surgery to remove it. Totally worth it. 

Edited May 29 by marmalade

[MariaariaM]

Turning 44 this year. High arches, wide feet, occasional bouts of plantar fasciitis (influenced by diet in my case) but otherwise my feet are happy. Gave up heels years ago because they never fit anyway. Mom's feet are fine but the women on Dad's side of the family tend toward bunions so I am careful about stability exercises. Genes make as big a difference to foot health as shoes and physical stress (standing jobs are the worst).

[theotherelise]

I think Simon is going to join the military when he turns 18. Then eventually Ezra will see his brother living an adult life and desire more himself. 

If Abbie had an iota of self-awareness, she would have kept the Scotland trip private. Going on a 19 year anniversary trip to the UK less than a year after you got back from a 45-day long Europe trip for your family of 12 is wild. And right after you did a total kitchen remodel that was most likely only minimally covered by insurance. 

My husband and I just went on a trip for our 10th anniversary. It was 1.5 hours from home, 3 nights at a hotel while my parents watched my 4 year old. It was great. Looking forward to our next trip together in another 10 years lol.

[JermajestyDuggar]

10 minutes ago, theotherelise said:

I think Simon is going to join the military when he turns 18. Then eventually Ezra will see his brother living an adult life and desire more himself. 

If Abbie had an iota of self-awareness, she would have kept the Scotland trip private. Going on a 19 year anniversary trip to the UK less than a year after you got back from a 45-day long Europe trip for your family of 12 is wild. And right after you did a total kitchen remodel that was most likely only minimally covered by insurance. 

My husband and I just went on a trip for our 10th anniversary. It was 1.5 hours from home, 3 nights at a hotel while my parents watched my 4 year old. It was great. Looking forward to our next trip together in another 10 years lol.

What’s crazy is that I feel like my husband and myself are very privileged financially. And if you look at stats comparing us to others our age with 2 kids, we are! But damn! We could NEVER come close to affording the shit Braggie does. They have so much money to spend. And she’s over here telling people how to parent. It should just be called, “you can be the perfect parent too if you have a million bucks, a grandmother as a third parent, and a huge dose of privilege!”

[QuiverFullOfGoats]

16 minutes ago, theotherelise said:

I think Simon is going to join the military when he turns 18. Then eventually Ezra will see his brother living an adult life and desire more himself. 

If Abbie had an iota of self-awareness, she would have kept the Scotland trip private. Going on a 19 year anniversary trip to the UK less than a year after you got back from a 45-day long Europe trip for your family of 12 is wild. And right after you did a total kitchen remodel that was most likely only minimally covered by insurance. 

My husband and I just went on a trip for our 10th anniversary. It was 1.5 hours from home, 3 nights at a hotel while my parents watched my 4 year old. It was great. Looking forward to our next trip together in another 10 years lol.

Can you imagine what they will do for their 20 yr???  A trip around the world?  Outer space??  Sans kids, no doubt.  If they don’t go anywhere, it will only be because she martyred herself with another pregnancy/baby.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

Yet they won’t pay for college 😑

[SassyPants]

We have always been financially secure with both of us working in professional capacities, and only having a family of 4. My husband and I took 4 trips without our kids, while our kids were minors in our home. 3 of those trips were work trips for my husband and his boss requested that I attend as his spouse (I did finally put an end to that as it was a nightmare trying to find childcare especially once the kids were in school), plus secure time off from my own job, and burn through by own vacation time. So 1 trip as a couple for fun. I do not feel sorry for us. We have been many places both with our kids and as a couple now that they are raised and on their own. The H’s live in a fantasy world; few couples live and spend as they do.

ETA- I was just telling my husband this the other day. Money and time are huge constraints for most families. For us, time was definitely the most limiting factor. 

Edited May 29 by SassyPants

[Ozlsn]

I laughed a lot at the ad juxtaposition.

Spoiler

Run Ezra run!

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

18 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Yet they won’t pay for college 😑

I don't think they pay for very much for the children.

Braggie teaches at the homeschooling co-op in exchange for free tuition, She has free child care from her mom and the BroDads and SisMoms,  All her children's clothes are thrifted/ handed down (not that this is bad, but never a completely new outfit for them). They aren't paying for extra-curricular sports or hobbies or interests.

Braggie spends a lot on herself, her house, her trips, her vacations with Shaun. etc., etc.. etc. Essentially her wants, her "needs", her "blessings" for being a super sparkly amazing cool and rad best-ess Christian evah who Jesus loves more and better than anyone else in the entire universe.

[SassyPants]

Per IG they got a flat tire and the rental car has no spare. Didn’t they check that before leaving the rental car lot? Rookie move- Dollars to donuts Shaun hit the curb while driving. It happens a lot to  folks unaccustomed to driving on the other side of the road- 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

BEC, but I'm giggling at the flat tire.