The show Parenthood is coming to an end, tonight, after six seasons. To say I am going to miss this show is an understatement. I started watching Parenthood about two years ago on Netflix, thanks to the suggestion from my friend, Krissy. I watched the first two episodes and knew I was hooked. I was hooked for many reasons..
The main reason being I saw my own family in these characters. This huge, tight-knit, loving, easily angered, slow to forgive, boundary overstepping, mixed family. This was the first television family I have seen that seems to really demonstrate to all of us what having a large family is truly like. Growing up in a large family has its ups and downs. There are awesome moments when having a large family is the best! For example, in the show, when Drew had a baseball try-out, or when Victor got adopted, and the ENTIRE Braverman clan showed up to support them. (Whether they liked it or not) However, as with anything else in life, with the good comes the bad, and sometimes having a large family means people can overstep their boundaries of “closeness.” For example, when Kristina started the argument in the emergency room about the Luncheonette that turned into a huge blowout between Adam and Crosby. But what I really saw in these examples were how close families actually operate. There are going to be times when we absolutely adore each other, and there will be other times where we make each other SO mad or SO crazy, but in the end, an “I’m sorry and I will always love you” is all that matters. When families lose sight of the love and dwell on the anger, it makes for a lot of broken families and ultimately partially broken people.
Outside of seeing my own family in this show, I see what some would call my “ideal” immediate family. I want to have four children. Two biological and two adopted. Although none of the original four children are adopted in the show, there are four of them. I’ve always loved the idea of having a large family of my own. I’ve always loved thinking about my kids having multiple siblings to have their back and confide in if they can’t in Mom and Dad. Being the crazy lady during the holidays that I am, I even think about how Thanksgiving and Christmas will be amazing with a house full of craziness and children, or as I like to call it, a house full of LOVE :-). I even think about the future, and how our children will have their own little families, and them all bringing all of their families to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions. Sort of almost exactly like the Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes of Parenthood in season 4.
What also makes a show lovable, is whether or not it is relatable. From Max’s Asperger Syndrome to Crosby and Jasmine’s interracial marriage, everyone somewhere could relate to a character or situation on this show. Even the different marriage dynamics were skillfully and thoughtfully planned out. There are characters I love (Drew) and other characters that make me insane (Kristina).They discuss issues that make us happy (helping children with special needs, adoption, college acceptance, etc.) and they discuss issues that are hard to talk about (cancer, abortion, alcohol abuse, etc.) No matter the issue, the writers always beautifully showed the right and wrong ways to handle conflict resolution. I believe in today’s world, with all of the sensitivity and conflict taking place, we could all use a television show that shows us how to respectfully and lovingly deal with conflict and how to resolve it like adults. Because the truth of the matter is, we are human and will not always agree on everything our loved ones say or do.
The last reason I love Parenthood, is because it was a nice wholesome family show, almost everyone could relate to at some point in their lives. The first time I heard myself say “wholesome show” out loud, I realized I was definitely a Mother lol. It was nice to have a show I could watch with anyone from my Grandmother to my sister-in-law, and not have to feel uncomfortable thinking an inappropriate scene could happen at any time. It was nice to watch a show where you didn’t hear the characters calling each other disrespectful degrading names for ratings. And more than anything it was nice to watch a show that demonstrated the meaning of unconditional love and undeserving forgiveness.
Shows like Parenthood come around every once in a blue moon. It’s sad, but it’s true. After six amazing seasons, tonight will be the last time I cry on a Thursday night watching Parenthood. (If you watch this show then you know crying is a norm) I’m SO beyond sad to see this amazing television show go off the air, but I’m even happier it ever existed. Here’s to praying one day I have a large family of my own to recreate this family dynamic in real life. As for now, I will enjoy the beginning and building stages with my awesome husband, my amazing daughter, and my entertaining dog.
Farewell Parenthood. Thanks for the made-up yet beautiful memories!
Brie <3
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