Last night, Lexi and I watched the Jon and Kate Plus 8 season premiere. Hoping the rumors floating around were just malicious gossip, we were disappointed to see the stress. We've watched these kids grow up the last few years, yet now there appears to be serious trouble in the Gosselin home.
Of course, in retrospect, the signs were there. Kate, in her blunt, overbearing way, treated Jon more like wayward hired-hand than a partner. Their styles are opposite - she's detail oriented to the extreme, he's a free spirit. Kate is abrasive, Jon is apologetic. Those qualities are a ticking time bomb in most marriages. Sometimes, love does prevail, but more often resentment quietly builds. As their fame and fortune escalated, Kate was elevated to Momma Goose with her adorable little ones in lock step. Jon was relegated to the background, eventually losing the elements of a man's identity that are important to his self-respect.
Dear Jon:
Step up and be the man, husband and father your family deserves. Running away is a cop-out. You've allowed your family to become this train wreck. Yes, you're married to a strong woman, a quality that has most likely come in handy raising eight children, but one that you have fostered and hidden behind. Yes, she's married to a gentle, kind man who just wants everybody to be happy - pleasing others to the extent you've lost yourself.
Jon, I encourage you to fight for your wife and children. It will be a change for Kate - she's grown accustomed to leading the charge. You both claim that the kids are your priority - yet there is a very self-centered divide. It doesn't matter who's at fault for what - move forward. Two loving parents are the best gift you can give your kids - find that place again. Work together, communicate, find a loving, respectful solution that makes each of you a whole partner. Get into counseling. Do what it takes.
Find yourself Jon - don't waste precious time. Look into the eyes of your children and know where your heart belongs. Fall in love with your wife again. Change what needs to be changed. Be the leader God intended you to be.
Sincerely ~ MomUnscripted
I write that because I have a little Kate in me and there have been times in my own life when my headstrong personality gets me into places I don't want to be. I'm married to a good man whose greatest desire is for me to be the happiest woman on earth. That can be a fatal combination when it gets out of balance with daily reality. Kate doesn't need a letter, she needs one word, the same as I often have to remind myself:
RESPECT
I doubt we will continue watching Jon & Kate Plus 8. Gone is the peek into the life of raising multiples - replaced with the tabloid nastiness that destroys families. Behind the reality television show are hurting people - and innocent children. We will be praying for them.
Am I a lucky Nana or what?
