Andrew & Harley Plus 2

I was taking the 4:30am shift the other night with. I like to use that time to get in some good TV. Harley had been watching Jon & Kate Plus 8, and it was paused right at the beginning of an episode.

I never liked that show. It's kind of cruel. Parenthood is hard for anyone, but this is ridiculous. These parents, these people, these kids, got more than they ever bargained for. I may have a hard time with 2, but their existence for the next 18 years is going to be hard. Really hard. Of course, that's why it's good TV!

We have this voyeuristic view into their remarkable world. They are sort of forced into allowing this because they need the money. Their lives have become a spectacle. Some might say the fame and money is great, and it is for them. The need it to get by. Jon's salary as an IT analysts ain't cutting it on its own.

So watching them, I got the feeling like I was intruding. That they didn't really want me there but they needed the money. It made the show hard to watch, like an awkward lap dance.

But this was 4:30am. I was tired, Jack was crying, my hands were full, so I hit the play button.

Guess what the episode was about? Mother's Day. In case you don't know, Mother's Day is also known as "Dad's Day Is Going To Suck" Day. Jon let Kate sleep in, took care of all the kids and even made her breakfast in bed.

I see a man, struggling to make it through a mundane task like breakfast, doing his best not to get upset at his kids who are getting in his way but just want to be near him. He's starting to lose it, and it's not even 11am.

Yes, I saw myself. Amplified a zillion times, I still knew almost exactly what he was going through. I couldn't help but relate and get interested.

I don't want to start watching every episode. A zillion comments about how this really is such a great show and blah blah blah aren't going to make me get a season pass. But I see the appeal, at least for me.