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Therapy and sanity for ordinary parents of special kids.

It Could Be Worse…OctoMom Could Be On Your Knott’s Landing

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Octomum Nadya Suleman and her large family plus helpers launch their signature Milkshake at 'Millions of Milkshakes' on November 10, 2010 in West Hollywood, California.

It could be worse…

You could behind OctoMom and her kids

at the ice cream parlor.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

As you probably know by now, we like to use humor as a coping technique on those rare (OK, frequent) occasions when life is stressful. (“Gina, do you think that whoopie cushion is appropriate to bring to Aunt Millie’s wake?”). Yes,  when things are particularly trying with our special children (i.e., when report cards show up in the mail, or the Pharmacy is closed), we like to play a humorous game called, “It Could Be Worse…” Today, after a stressful day of listening to our children fight, we came across the  video below from TMZ.com, which reminded us that it really could be worse…

…we could be neighbors with OctoMom.

Think about it? Who would want to live across the street from her and her brood of children.  She’d probably show up at your door. “Hi, can I borrow 35 cups of sugar?”

It would be very frightening  for Gina, an imperfect driver,  who struggles with the reverse gear (she’s hit two family members’ cars, and backed out into her garage door). “Oh sorry OctoMom. I seemed to have run over another one of your children. Oh, well good thing you have extras.”

As the video of Octomom’s neighbor shows, OctoMom is not going to win Neighbor of the Year honors in her cul-de-sac, nor will she probably earn an invitation to the next Bunko party. She apparently is disturbing her neighbors by loudly yelling at her children. (Sure, we do it too, but at least we had the good sense not to have so many of them!). She also has been known to have big crowds of people gathered outside of her house, though those crowds of people are probably her 18,000 children just waiting at the bus stop (either that or she’s on the Verizon network)

We can’t entirely fault OctoMom. We’re sure that with some of the things that go on in our imperfect homes, our neighbors probably would prefer we didn’t live here. (“Gina, could you please stop tainting the water supply by dumping your daughter’s Ritalin in the toilet?” or “Patty, do you have to peel out of your driveway so fast? The screeching tires woke us up!”  What troubles us is that people just assume that because our children sometimes tantrum in frustration or only eat one thing (“I swear that mother orders pizza every night. I think she’s sleeping with the delivery man”) that we’re unfit parents.  Or that we’re somehow strange when we ask if the pattened “Tupperware burp” is available with prescription pill organizers.

Sometimes it’s hard to be judged by people who simply don’t know what it’s like to walk in our imperfect shoes.

What do you think? Do you feel your neighbors are judging you?

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5 Responses to It Could Be Worse…OctoMom Could Be On Your Knott’s Landing

  1. Judy January 24, 2011 at 10:01 pm #

    Can you imagine if any or all of her kids were imperfect? Yikes!

  2. Sharon January 24, 2011 at 10:42 pm #

    I cannot imagine even attempting to raise that many kids, especially given the media coverage, etc. I wish I could say I’ve never judged her, but yes, I’ve wondered, from time to time, the same thing my family has wondered about me for adopting an infant when I was 50yo: what were you thinking??

  3. Melissa January 24, 2011 at 11:50 pm #

    Thanks for that….I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. I have always said that my neighbors set their alarms every morning so they can watch the show as I load my kids in the car to go to school every morning. Maybe I should get a sign that says “It could be worse…..you could live next door to OctoMom”. LOL!!

  4. Diane Hahn January 25, 2011 at 12:04 am #

    After 12 years in this neighborhood, the other families have seen and heard it all coming from our house. They’ve given up trying to figure me out. Certainly they’ve judged me and have deemed me mentally incompetent. They just smile and back away slowly.

  5. Darcy January 25, 2011 at 6:42 pm #

    “Can I borrow 35 cups of sugar?”….brilliant

    Even though I only have 3 kids, I sometimes feel like I am the Octomom of the neighborhood.
    Everyone hears my 7 year old with autism scream most mornings about getting on the bus.

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