Parenthood...

First of all. If you haven't watched this show - quit reading because I REFUSE to be the spoiler in your Parenthood experience. So, just come back.

But y'all.


ALL THE TEARS. I mean, every single one of my tears came out of my eyes.

I cried watching it. I cried thinking about it. And then I cried over ice cream recapping it all to/with Ryan. He clearly did not cry.

I'm going to miss this show so much, which I think is evident since I am writing a blog post about saying goodbye to a fictional family. But, I really love the Bravermans. They were messy. They were honest. They were full of faults and crazy and loud and mistakes. They were imperfect.

They were us.

All of us. They didn't apologize. They didn't try to change each other (all the time). They just loved. They forgave. They had each other's backs. They were so good at the every day and made the inbetweens worth remembering too.

They celebrated life big and small. They learned from each other. They learned with each other. They listened. They yelled. They laughed. They cried.

I can honestly say that this show is my favorite of all time.

Before FRIENDS. Even before the original 90210. (And y'all. That's huge). (Because Dylan McKay).

My top ten favorite moments from the finale...

Hank asking Zeek's permission to marry Sarah.
Crosby winning at life and growing up.
Joel and Julia, or JOELIA (as I saw on Meg's insta)
Hank asking Drew to be his BEST man.
Zeek and Sarah's front porch chat.
The music montage of all the families taking pictures. Because LOST IT.
Zeek and Camille watching it all unfold..."We did good, didn't we?"
Their third act.
The baseball game.
The glimpse of what was to come.


Thank you, Bravermans. For letting us in. For teaching us about family. For loving each other. And for embracing the messy of life.

Because the thing about "parenthood" that you don't really think about (at least I didn't) is that it's just that ... messy. I have never once had a perfect day of parenting. And I never will. I have received more grace from my children and husband than I deserve for all the mistakes, overreactions, crazy moments, yelling for no reason, and mistakes that I've made.

I am messy.

But at the end of the day, when I making one more round of kissing the tops of sleeping heads and covering cold feet with a blanket, I am delighted to share in the mess of parenthood. I am eager for the next day, the next moments, the next 10 years of the messy that is it come.

And, I'm wondering what took me so long to discover this Bob Dylan song...

May god bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay, forever young

May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay forever young