Jon and Kate, give me a break.

This week, Jon and Kate Gosselin filed for divorce and their show, "Jon & Kate + 8," was put on hiatus while the family "regroups." I don't know how you guys feel about it, but I can't say I'm disappointed by this.

I have to wonder what, aside from monetary gain, could ever be good about having your entire life broadcast to the world. I know they have eight children in two sets of multiples, and that that is in itself a remarkable thing. I know that, in the beginning, the idea was to chronicle the adventures of a couple with six babies and two toddlers in one house. I know that on a certain level, the show makes sense. But I think it ran too long, too often, and that the massive media attention has hurt this family more than helped.

The cross-over episodes with other celebrities (Emeril Lagasse??) don't lend any sort of credibility to the "normal life" situation that this show is supposed to portray. There are better (read: less intrusive) ways to televise your story and still protect your family's integrity. Perhaps a series of specials like they initially filmed (and the sort of thing that helps support the Duggar's family of twenty) would have been a better idea.

While I can empathize with both Jon and Kate regarding the state of their marriage, I don't think it's at all appropriate to spend time on a nationally televised show discussing it. Divorce is difficult, especially for children. I think that if they sensed irreparable discord in their lives because of the program, they should have backed out and saved their kids from being second fiddle to a juicy "he said, she said" media fiasco. A show that is supposed to support a family shouldn't be a window to its downfall, right?

The superficial "reality" of Jon and Kate's show has shown me that their interest has shifted from the original premise (showing how the daily parenting grind is exponentially complicated by multiples) to exploiting their celebrity to fund their latest surgery or adventure or remodel or what-have-you. Until Jon and Kate have proven that they're able to live a life (or separate lives, as it turns out) that revolve around their children instead of the money they make for parading their family and dirty laundry through the media, I hope this show's hiatus is a permanent one.

Feel free to share yours thoughts in the comments. The opinions in this post are those of the author and are in no way indicative of the opinions of the editors or owners of Red River Family magazine or RedRiverFamily.com.

In which I introduce myself, sort of.

My name is Adrienne. There's no nickname for that, and as a child of the 80s it's clearly obvious that my mom was in love with Sly Stallone. The lifelong onslaught of "Yo, Adrienne!" jokes is like having a bad tattoo that you didn't have a choice in getting. Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.

I'm 26 years old and my husband will (very soon) be 30; we met 10 years ago when I got my first job at a local fast food restaurant; he was my manager, I had a boyfriend, and it was another two years before we even considered dating. Here we are, eight years later, still eerily compatible and the proud co-creators of the coolest 3-year-old girl on the planet.

I'm a mom, a wife, a rememberer of things both trivial and enormous, a lover of all food made of chicken, coffee, and/or zucchini. I work 32 hours a week in a lab doing important sciencey-type things and roughly 30 more hours a week from home as a writer of ad copy, informative articles, short fiction, and long-winded columns for Red River Family. I love to cook, paint and do crafty things with my daughter, and I really love reading and watching movies.

I've been writing for Red River Family since October, 2008. Regular readers know that I'm woefully inept at being a mother, but I remain convinced that there's hope for me yet. The kid is still alive and mostly intact, after all.

Apparently being a child means one is exempt from obeying the laws of physics and predictability; bodies bounce when they should not, and the next-to-impossible odds are always on your side. I'm relying on these things to carry The Girl at least to adulthood, where she can discover the binding laws of gravity and society on her watch, and I no longer risk criminal prosecution.

Whatever the result, I'll be discussing the adventures of parenting a nearly-four-year-old here every week. With any luck, I'll be able to elude the authorities and The Girl will continue to narrowly escape permanent physical injury or emotional scars. I swear to you, I feed and hug and water her.

Remember I said that if you're called in for questioning, ok? And check back every week for a new post. See ya soon!