The Competition

[Brenda]

I just finished watching the episode, The Competition, where Chad comes to Waltons Mountain and stays with the Waltons, and Erin and Mary Ellen both fall in love with him.

The other storyline in that episode is the one I want to comment on. Olivia wants another baby, the doctor advises her not to, then he suggests that they keep a foster baby for awhile until her adoption is final. Does anyone else think that Olivia acted just a bit selfish when the young couple came to their house to pick the baby up? That young couple was unable to have a baby of their own, and she had 7 children already. She turned away and started crying. Now I always cry at the end of that episode too, but I'm not crying for Olivia. I don't feel sorry for her. Her life is full of children. I cry because I am so happy for that young couple. I remember 44 years ago when my childless brother and sister-in-law adopted a 3 week old baby boy, and I remember last summer when my childless nephew and his wife adopted a 2-day old baby boy. I just think that when Olivia met that young couple, she should have shown some understanding towards them and felt happy for them. Does anyone else feel this way?

[awesomemixtape10]

Olivia is unlikeable in a lot of episodes.

[Deleted]

+1

[clyde]

You know, you're right. That was selfish on Olivia's part.

[River]

I never really thought about it that way, but yes she was. I never liked the part where she insisted on meeting the parents. If the couple had already been through the process of adoption, then what did it matter that Olivia approve?

[navywife]

I see both sides of the coin. Olivia did have 7 children of her own whereas the other couple had no children, so it was selfish of Olivia to want to keep that baby for herself. On the other side of the coin, sometimes foster parents become very emotionally attached and it's not easy to let go. Also, as a female, Olivia already felt the loss of not being able to have anymore children. Having that baby in her arms helped fulfill a deep desire. At the same time, she was going to have to accept what all women have to at some point or another and that is no longer bearing children, babies grow, the empty nest, etc.

On another note, was Olivia's desire to keep that baby really about her wanting another baby to raise or not being able to accept the fact that she could not/should not have anymore children?

[goodnight]

It may have been a bit selfish on her part. But I guess she got very attached to the child. Grandma was very fond of her as well. Elizabeth did not want them to give baby Jennifer up either. I think that was her name.

This is a little off topic, but in the Spencer's Mtn. novel, Olivia had 11 children. There was an extra boy in the group of sons after ClayBoy. There was a baby boy after PattyCake (the character that Elizabeth was based on) and then there were boy/girl twins born during the book.

[navywife]

Eleven children?! Wow. I have one and his college tuition is breaking my bank. I know it was common back then to have many children. I have seen it time and time again in history and family studies. However, I couldn't personally imagine 11 children in this day and age. I love my son dearly but there is no way I would have gone through labor and delivery 11 times.

[ForeverWaltons]

Feb 9, 2013 12:05:48 GMT -5 navywife said:

Eleven children?! Wow. I have one and his college tuition is breaking my bank. I know it was common back then to have many children. I have seen it time and time again in history and family studies. However, I couldn't personally imagine 11 children in this day and age. I love my son dearly but there is no way I would have gone through labor and delivery 11 times.

I have 8 children navywife! Our five oldest are girls & our 3 youngest are boys. Two are out of the house. The oldest is married with a 2 year old & 5 month old. The other one is in college.

Their ages are: 23, 22, 16, 15, 12, 10, 8 & 4. Yes, it is expensive & busy with so many but also very rewarding to have a house full!!

[navywife]

At times I wonder what it would have been like to have many children...have a Waltons family (of my own or to have grown up in a large, close family). Perhaps in a different life.

[awesomemixtape10]

,Foreverwaltons, so at one time your husband was living with 6 females (including you) and he was the only male ?!

WOW.

My Brother only has 2 girls...I think he gets to watch one sporting event a year so he has to choose wisely. lol

Seriously, That's pretty cool that you have a big family like that.

Do you think your kids will all have big families?

[goodnight]

Feb 9, 2013 12:05:48 GMT -5 navywife said:

Eleven children?! Wow. I have one and his college tuition is breaking my bank. I know it was common back then to have many children. I have seen it time and time again in history and family studies. However, I couldn't personally imagine 11 children in this day and age. I love my son dearly but there is no way I would have gone through labor and delivery 11 times.

I wonder how that woman Michelle Duggar in "19 children and counting" keeps going through it. I think that last one born too early and the miscarriage with the 20th should tell them it's time to quit.

My great-grandmother on my mother's side had 10. Her husband had 4 from a previous marriage, so that made 14 altogether. His first wife died from complications from measles around 1900. The last one (my grandmothers youngest brother) just died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 86.

[ForeverWaltons]

Feb 10, 2013 13:12:48 GMT -5 goodnight said:

Feb 9, 2013 12:05:48 GMT -5 navywife said:

Eleven children?! Wow. I have one and his college tuition is breaking my bank. I know it was common back then to have many children. I have seen it time and time again in history and family studies. However, I couldn't personally imagine 11 children in this day and age. I love my son dearly but there is no way I would have gone through labor and delivery 11 times.

I wonder how that woman in "19 children and counting" keeps going through it. I think that last won born too early and the miscarriage with the 20th should tell them it's time to quit.

My great-grandmother on my mother's side had 10. Her husband had 4 from a previous marriage, so that made 14 altogether. His first wife died from complications from measles around 1900. The last one (my grandmothers youngest brother) just died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 86.

Back in 1978, my Dad worked with a man who was one of 28! By the SAME man & woman!!

[ForeverWaltons]

Feb 10, 2013 12:18:16 GMT -5 awesomemixtape10 said:

,Foreverwaltons, so at one time your husband was living with 6 females (including you) and he was the only male ?!

WOW.

My Brother only has 2 girls...I think he gets to watch one sporting event a year so he has to choose wisely. lol

Seriously, That's pretty cool that you have a big family like that.

Do you think your kids will all have big families?

awesome.....My husband & I were foster parents & our oldest seven were our former foster children. When they become available for adoption, we adopted them. Our youngest was a private adoption. His birth mother picked us out of all the other couples wanting to adopt. Her reasons were because we were foster parents & she thought that took someone with a "loving & giving" heart plus she did not want him to grow up an only child & this way she knew he would already have "siblings." I am immensely grateful to her because even though he was our 8th child, he was the only one we had from birth, the first child we ever got to give the first bath to, put on the first diaper & give the first bottle to.

Our oldest two are birth siblings. They were 6 & 7 years old when they came to us as foster children. They lived with us nearly 6 years before we were able to adopt them.

The next 3 girls are birth siblings. They were 6, 5 & 2 1/2 years old when they came to us as foster children. It took 5 years to adopt them.

The two oldest boys are half brothers. They were 2 1/2 years old & 2 months old when they came as foster children. It took 4 years to adopt them.

Our youngest was 1 hour 20 minutes old when we got him. We stayed in the hospital with him for three days, just as if he were born to us. He was 3 months old when we legally adopted him.

One of the good things about being foster parents is that we had them in our home for all of those years while waiting for them to become available for adoption. Of course, the part that we didn't like was that we fostered other children that went back to their birth families. That was soooo hard having to give them back, but that is part of it. After all that is the goal of foster parents....to reunite the birth families but it doesn't always work out, so that's were adoption comes in!

We had 5 of them at one time playing baseball & softball. Talk about running around like a chicken with its head cut off with practices & games!! We are fixing to do it again though starting in a few weeks. But this time it will only be 4. Our boys also play football & our 16 year old plays basketball.

I know my oldest daughter is only planning on having the two that she has. I have no idea if my other kids plan on a large family. ;D

I will also say that it is much easier raising boys than girls!! Girls have all that teen drama, body issues, self esteem issues, etc....

[goodnight]

I remember an old black and white documentary about a family in either Oregon or Michigan* that had 18 altogether. If I could remember what it was called I would see if YouTube had it. It was narrated by Henry Fonda. I remember at the time thinking it was kind of funny with him narrating it. Because he and Lucille Ball had been in the movie Yours, Mine and Ours about the blended family of 18.

*I could have the state wrong, but I think it was in the Northwest or Midwest.