I love the show Jon and Kate Plus 8.  For those of you who might not be familiar with it, it’s a reality program on TLC that follows thirtysomething Pennsylvania parents Jon and Kate as they raise seven year-old twins and four year-old sextuplets.  I like watching it because it provides harmless entertainment while I’m feeding the baby, and reminds me of how easy it is to take care of just ONE baby.

I’ve now seen about 30 episodes (don’t snipe – they’re only 20 minutes long) and something has been nagging at me about Kate. The woman is absolutely obsessed with keeping the kids clean and their activities monitored at all times. She scrubs the kitchen floor, on her hands and knees, three times a day.  I guess there’s nothing wrong with this if it helps her maintain her sanity, but one has to wonder why a person who is so hypervigilant about controlling her children would proceed with the high-risk engagement of gestating sextuplets in the first place.  With the exception of having to use some breathing equipment a few times a day until around age three, Kate’s kids seem fine, but it easily could have gone the other way.  They were born very premature, weighing only a few pounds each, and doctors said that it was miraculous that they all survived. 

The lesson here is that Kate, like most people, is inconsistent some of her beliefs and behavior.  When we go through life expecting our bosses or colleagues not to contradict themselves, or not to be hypocritical, we’re setting ourselves up for frustration and disappointment.   If you want to have good relationships, accept people for who they are and move on.