The Duggars were in our city this weekend for a book signing. My boys and I are fascinated by their show, so we were eager to attend. We were especially excited to learn that the camera crew for their Discovery Channel show would be along to film the signing. NO ANTICS, I warned, lest we end up on a Discovery Channel special entitled See? Some Christian Families Act Like Hooligans. Check your local listings.
They introduced their crew, sang a song, and then they opened up to the audience for questions. My middle son (also known as The Loose Cannon) shot his hand straight up in the air. My mind raced with possible scenarios: Please-oh-please, son, do not tell Michelle Duggar a fart joke. I managed to get his attention.
"What do you want to ask?" I whispered.
He whispered back incredulously. "How does she homeschool so many different ages all at the same time?" Ah. It's good to know that a mother with multi-tasking abilities is a foreign concept to the child.
He never got to ask his question, incidentally, but there were some good ones from the rest of the audience. If you want to see the videos, I posted them at YouTube. Here was their answer to how they came up with all the "J" names, and here was their answer about whether or not their kids wanted to go to college. I loved it that they were momentarily stumped when asked about all the kids' ages, because I am stumped by the ages (and, well, occasionally the names) of just my four.
It was a really fun afternoon--the Duggars were funny, gracious and humble (and, incidentally, I think Michelle may have the prettiest skin I've ever seen). They made it clear that they are not a perfect family with all the answers, but they're doing what they're doing only by God's grace. I can relate to that just fine.
