Parenthood, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is “the state of being a parent; specifically: the position, function, or standing of a parent.” It is also a show on NBC. The show spotlights the Bravermans, a large family in California, and the issues they go through. The Bravermans consist of two parents, four grown children, and their lives, spouses (or lack there-of) and children. I find this show touching, funny, interesting, heartbreaking and compelling. I am also really jealous of those four fictional siblings.
Every time I watch this show I think about those 2 sisters and 2 brothers. They are so lucky to have each other. They don’t always get along, but they eventually come around and have each other’s backs. Yes, it’s television, it’s idealized and fake, but it looks oh so nice.
I had one sibling, and now I don’t.
I have lost a part of myself. The part that remembers things slightly differently than I do. The part that helps me to understand my parents. The part that conspires with me. The part that fights with me.
I know people who have siblings they don’t get along with. This is so sad to me. The relationship with a sibling is unlike any other in life. It’s the first person you have to learn to get along with. It’s the person who challenges you and complements you. It’s a peer who knows you better, and will always know you better, than any other. Even a spouse. It’s someone you can always count on. It’s incredibly difficult to explain.
It’s a relationship I never particularly examined before. I took it for granted. Why wouldn’t I, when he was always there? Luckily, I had a good relationship with Eric and not too much to regret. I wish I had visited him more as an adult. I wish he had felt more able to confide in me. But most of all, I wish he were still here.
When I watch NBC’s Parenthood sometimes I get caught up in the story lines like everyone else. Sometimes I get caught up in the abundance of sibling relationships. And I miss Eric even more.
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