I, like millions of American’s, curled up on the couch, bribed children with dessert, and settled in – with ample interruptions – to watch Sarah Palin’s Alaska a month or so again.  I gasped in amazement at the scenery, the wilderness, and the seeming peacefulness of the Alaskan terrain.  I watched the time stamp on the bottom of the screen and reveled in that, at 10:38 pm, the family could fish and hunt because it was still light out.  
Not being a hunter or fisher woman myself, I turned away during several scenes in the beginning but soon was drawn in and understanding why Alaskan’s treasure their hunting and fishing.  It truly is food on the table.  Unlike here where I pass six convenient stores and three grocery stores on the way to my daughter’s school, they truly have to prepare for a dark, long winter.  
After series premier, I got busy and forgot about the show.  But while up with a sick daughter the other night, I did caught up.  And last night I caught the latest episode.  TLC has another show that I have never seen called Kate Plus 8.  It is the remnant of the once ratings winning, family oriented, popular show Jon and Kate Plus 8.  I used to watch the original but after the messy demise of that marriage, in national television, I simply lost interest.  
But I was really interested to see this match up.  That of Kate Gosselin vs Sarah Palin.  I sort of knew, from the personalities of the two women, or at least how they have each been portrayed on their reality shows, that this was not going to end well.  While Kate has a domineering, no room for variation, “my way” personality, she seems to lack the self confidence that makes her flexible? It is obvious that she does not do well outside of her comfort zone, as painfully exhibited during her melt down within hours of the camping trips start.   
This is Sarah’s back yard, so it would stand to reason that she exudes a confident, playful, anything goes personality.  Plus, she seems more accepting of new activities due to her upbringing.  Having to watch for bears every time you go out would certainly make someone more apt to change.  
But the truth is, Kate acted like a spoiled, unappreciative, child.  Her inability to look beyond herself and see the benefit of this experience for her children was inherently selfish.  Even after her children told her they wanted to stay, she made the decision to take a once in a lifetime opportunity away from them out of her own discomfort.  A discomfort she brought on herself.  Anyone who stands and does nothing will be the coldest, the most miserable, and the one having the least amount of fun.
If it came to the kind of mother I am and would hope to be, I would like to fall more on the Sarah Palin side.  Someone who could absorb a situation and see the best of it, instead of making everyone around me uncomfortable and throwing their hospitality back in their faces.  
Plus, I want to live in Alaska now because it really is beautiful, so I need to butter up to someone who lives there and knows how to shoot a gun!