The Parenthood Draw

As I write this, there's just one episode of the popular NBC hit, Parenthood left and if my Facebook feed is any indication, we're all sad.

It's been a good run and I'm attached to every character. When I sit and watch the show, I have to confess that after most every scene, I'll say aloud, "I love her," or "oh I love him," or "they are my favorite."

Over and over again I'm drawn in to these characters, the relationships they share, the moments and hardships and even the joys they encounter.

From relating with some of Kristina's overbearing mother moments {I've often said, I'm going to pull a Kristina Braverman, ahem!} to Julia's ambition, to Sarah and the way in which she levels and shows up for her kids, I'm pretty sure I've quoted her as we navigate the waters of teenagehood in our house more than once. We've sobbed through miscellaneous diagnosis', marriage crisis' and plenty of parenting issues but as someone who's lost a parent as we get to the end of the road and know that Zeke is ill, it's nearly impossible not to relate personally.

I often tell my husband that I hope and pray our five share the same sibling relationship the Braverman kids do and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

What's made us all fall in love with the show and the family?

It's not just a woman thing, I've talked to plenty of men and dads who are just as sucked in.

I'd like to think it's the relatable characters, the real life situations encountered and the true comraderie between them.

Sure there's been some nonsense because it's tv. {Kristina running for mayor anyone?} But most every episode has left us wanting more. It's left us with tears spilling out of our eyes.

And I think that the reason we're all drawn in is because it's all real life, it's relatable, it's real and even if we aren't experiencing particular parts of the story, chances are someone in our circle is. We, as a society are obsessed with reality tv, but I'm afraid most reality tv doesn't even compare to what most of us are living as we navigate the world that is life and relationships and parenthood quite the same way this show has.

When people I know talk about how much they loveParenthood, they talk about things that are so intimate — cancer, death, breakups, sad kids, people you don't know how to help, people who don't know how to help themselves — that despite the fact that "the drama of emotions" can seem like the softer of the two, it's the less escapist. Walter White's problems are ones I will never have. Don Draper's problems are ones I will never have. The Bravermans' problems, on the other hand, whistle uncomfortably closely past my ear. The older I get and the more I have on my mind, maybe the more I need the escapism of the drama of action, and the less I can tolerate the bracing idea that's shared and shared with me aboutParenthood, which is, "You're gonna cry!" -excerpt from HuffPo

Do you watch Parenthood? What do you think has drawn you in?