A Gaggle of Children

You know how, when a little kid is so tired and they don't know what to do with themselves, they'll start wandering in circles to stay awake?

Sometimes they want a blanket, then a cup of milk, then a story, then a snack... circles and circles and circles.

That was totally me this entire past weekend. It was rainy and icky and the weather just couldn't figure out what it wanted to do, which leaves me fighting exhaustion and not being able to decide what to do either. So on Sunday I gave up completely, laid on the couch, turned on the tv and got sucked into a pop culture phenomenon that had alluded me up to this point.

I spent an entire day watching back-to-back episodes of Jon and Kate plus 8. I had NO IDEA what I'd been missing.

My friend Meg had just been telling me that her daughter Taylor loves the show and can tell all the little sextuplets apart, so I paused on the station just to see what all the hoopla was about. And apparently I wasn't the only one wandering in circles not knowing what to do... Jon and Kate had eight kids doing that non-stop! As was Jon, Kate's husband... that woman has definite ideas of how life should go, and running in circles seemed to be Jon's best past time.

They are crazy, organized and yet in total disarray, seem to really love each other and yet drive each other nuts all at the same time. In other words, it's the only reality show I've ever watched where I think I'm actually watching reality. And now I think I'm hooked.

And I suddenly feel the need to say thank you to my mother for raising six kids ages eight and under, and congratulate her for having made it through. Because she dealt with this on a daily basis:

And there are days I can barely keep this under control:

Seriously.