Why be Normal?

Unless you haven’t turned on a television, saw the cover of a tabloid magazine or surfed the internet for any period of time, you have heard of the Gosselin family from the TLC show John and Kate Plus 8.

John and Kate Plus 8 just premiered season 5 on Monday despite reports that John Gosselin has left the family, has cheated on Kate Gosselin with a 23 year old and Kate Gosselin has cheated with her bodyguard.

Life was not always so tumultuous for the Gosselin couple.

Here they are when Kate gave birth to their twins Madeline and Kara.

Although, in retrospect, John doesn’t look so happy in this picture either.  Maybe it was taken a second too early and he was smiling ecstatically immediately after this picture was taken. 

Would life be different for John and Kate Gosselin if they stopped having children here?

Obviously, they wouldn’t have their television show on TLC, they wouldn’t have their beloved sextuplets.  But really, would John Gosselin still believe that he was “in prison” and still need to “go out like I couldn’t in my twenties”?

Anyone with children knows that even when you only have one child, you are a slave to their whims, their feedings, their need to be held.  Times six children at once and it is only reasonable that the whole situation could quickly spiral out of control.

Is Kate Gosselin a control freak?

Of course she is.  With eight children (nine when you count John), someone has to step up and take control of the family.   Kate Gosselin might go way over the top, not allowing her children to use markers at a Crayola factory or not wanting them to get dirty, but what she can she is the hours of work it will take to get her entire brood clean and she is trying to avoid it.

I think Kate Gosselin has worked at trying to be less controlling despite the fact that someone has to be the alpha in such a large family and it is clear that John Gosselin is happy to step aside and let her take the reigns. 

Here’s  one of John Gosselin’s now infamous bar photos taken with young women who he met out one night.

Is it really a big deal?

Well, no, not if you don’t have eight children at home and a reality television show.  But does John Gosselin really want his children be able to google him someday and see this?

You can’t have a television show, make millions of dollars, take all kinds of free, beautiful trips and then whine that you are under too much scrutiny and just want to be John, not John and Kate Plus 8.  You are John and Kate Plus 8 and that is the reality of it all.

In the Season 5 premier, both John and Kate aired their frustrations with the paparazzi, public scrutiny and with each other.  Although the Gosselins were trying to clear the air, it might have been a bit too much dirty laundry for a family show.  Either the Gosselins are putting it all out there in an effort to save the show despite their potential divorce, or they are adding drama and scandal to their show in order to boost ratings.

Regardless of how anyone feels about the Gosselin family, I hope that they are able to find the love they once had for each other.  Despite all the scandal, harsh words and hurt feelings, I hope that John and Kate Gosselin can reconcile.   Not for the kids, but for each other.  John and Kate were happier once before their lives spiraled out of control.  The Gosselins will show me that their is hope for any marriage to work if you just work at it hard enough if they are able to reconcile.

They just renewed their vows last year in Hawaii.  Now they just have to stick by them.

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