Why I Love Parenthood- A Review.

Laundry? 

Done. 
(or left to further wrinkle in dryer.
 As it has since Sunday).

Dinner dishes put away?

Check.

Showered and PJ's on?

Yup.

Now all that's left is to pour a bit of Riesling, arrange Costco's Sabra Spinach & Artichoke Hummus and a few Blue Corn Chips on a plate and I am set for my weekly visit with my new favorite family.

Hold on.

That was weird.

I just had a whiff of Deja-Vu....save for the drink and snack choice, and the fact the laundry is now up to me, this scenario sounds oddly familiar. As if in my past I would have had to have A, B and C done in order to stay up late (8pm) to watch a family who had me hooked from the first time I met them, which, incidentally, was during the untimely death of their youngest daughter's pet goldfish. You may have heard of them.

They were the Huxtable's. From Brooklyn Heights, NY.

I was a close friend of the family from the time Rudy's goldfish passed to Theo's graduation from NYU eight years later. You too? I missed them when they left. Still do.

When the Huxtables exited their set, they left a gaping hole that remained void for the last fifteen years. Sure, there have been those who attempted to fill it with sarcastic, insecure and dysfunctional as the rest of us characters...but there were cracks in their story lines and the characters never made us wish we lived next door to them. We fake laughed and obliged them perhaps for a little while, but always found our fingers reaching for the remote, because we never felt connected, nor did we really want to.

The families of TV failed us. Deep inside every adult, there is a child who longs for security, a safe place and a close-knit community that, for all their imperfections, has your back. We were too sophisticated to admit it, but we missed the security and sense of family we knew with the Huxtables.

Until this year.

Meet....the Bravermans.

After years of detached producers and writers (who made you wonder if they even KNEW any pint-sized people {they call them 'children', Mr. Hollywood} or even rubbed shoulders with people who raise them-{oft referred to as 'parents'}), who opted for soapy, snappy and sophisticated dramas to feed the appetite of the fray, finally comes a team of producers, writers and actors who seem to 'get it', giving those starving for a functional family, a nice big slab of meaty goodness.

This goodness is not to be confused with fake functionality or sugarcoated scenarios.

Asperger Syndrome, marital scars, awkward encounters, parenting errors and numerous other 'real life' stuff seeps from every episode. These things make us feel normal, make us feel a kinship with a family that isn't for real, but plays one who very easily could be.

One more thing: There is a character for everyone. If you spend any time with this fictional family, you will hear yourself thinking, "That is me" or 'She is so much like {insert-little-sister's name here}'. They were smart to make this a big family, as while most of us may not belong to one ourselves, there is a good chance we'll see the parent(s) or siblings or ourselves in at least one of the Braverman tribe. That kind of relating is what makes this show comfortably intriguing and downright addicting.

We are, to a degree, watching ourselves on TV.

For this mama of six, staying up until 10pm on a Tuesday night, when 5:30am is just a few hours down the pike, is a type of sacrifice that will have consequences (ie: putting on another pot of coffee at 10AM and wishing for the shower you sacrificed for sleep). But like all good relationships require, there are sacrifices I quite willingly make. I will continue to welcome the Bravermans into my home on Tuesday night, and feel completely comfortable letting them in while in my pajama's, wrinkly wash in my dryer and a glass of Riesling in hand. They're just that kind of family.