Our Life As A Reality Show

When people see or hear that we have a somewhat large family I often get asked if we've seen the Jon & Kate plus 8 or 17 (now 18) and counting shows. I used to just say "Nope" until being asked so many times peeked my curiosity. I recently have watched a few episodes of each. It's totally amazing to me that we will sit and watch someone elses family just existing in another ordinary day, and yet there is something about it that sucks me in when I watch them!

So today I was thinking about this and wondering "What if our family had a reality show? What footage would they use?" Each day seems so normal and sometimes dull.... feed the children, pay some bills, feed the children, run some errands, do school, feed the children, clean, feed the children, feed the children. Who would want to watch that?? Then I think about the many "moments" stuck in the middle of all the doldrums. There are countless fun and memorable moments!

Yesterday I needed to get a smog check to renew the tags on our van. I loaded up the six pack (of kids, of course) and off we went to get it done. Because downtime at an auto shop is no fun, the kids and I hit the streets! At each red light we started a new game. We would all together take a deep breath, exhale loudly, reach our hands towards the light, and in unison yell out "CHANGE". When it would change on cue all seven of us would scream and jump around excitedly. It was fun and silly. Can you imagine what the people in there cars must have thought of us? The puzzled looks we get while we are out and about are priceless. People are always trying to "figure us out". I can almost hear their minds thinking "must be a daycare" because I get asked that all the time.

The network could have featured the moment that a woman mindlessly started to go through the crosswalk during a red light~ nearly wiping out half our clan. I can picture how they would show that clip over and over again leaving everyone in suspense.... will someone be dying or not?? Just to find when they play it that it really wasn't THAT big of a deal! We could have shared our stop at KFC for a double chocolate chip cake that is advertised for up to 4 people but we split up for more then enough for 8 (saving a piece for Dad). On and on our adventures went in just a half hour slot of waiting for a smog on our car. There are so many more slots of time that are just little bursts of laughter, fun, silliness, cuteness, and love. Sometimes when things are really stressful and busy it is easy to forget about these kinds of moments, but they are sometimes the very thing that helps push us through the things that we "must" do so we can get back to the fun. I'm convinced that every family is living their own lives of adventure and drama. We should ALL have our own little reality show! ;)