Who doesn’t love that show? Which one of us, can not identify with at least one character from the show? Which husband doesn’t identify with the poor, simple & sweet husband Phil (Feeeel), or raise eyebrows at Claire, the bossy, all-knowing wife, the perennial bad cop of parenting? The show is a hit due to its straightforward honesty about relationships and human emotion, the family drama, the conflicting connections between family members, the melodrama of a teenage daughter, the perils of puberty, and all the theatrics. Despite, all the above, there is this underlying moral integrity of all the characters, albeit flawed but brutally honest.
We love the show as only parents can, appreciating the dilemma that is day-to-day parenting, the questionable everyday decisions we make, the uncertainty of the future of our offspring, the need to make them independent despite yearning for their dependence upon us…
Worry is something one gets as a byproduct of becoming a parent, just like the placenta is to a fetus, they come out, hand-in-hand.
And despite, all our best intentions, our best-laid plans, and our best efforts, we are repeatedly proven incompetent to handle the mighty task of bringing up a baby. To have that baby mature into an emotionally stable, kind, and smart individual. For them to not have a personality disorder, or mental health issues, to not be bullied or become a bully, to make them learn basic life skills of confidence, eye contact, and swimming. To be able to make friends but not conform, to be kind but not a pushover, to be confident but not a bully, to be an individual but still, a team player.
Do you get my point? It is an impossible task. And that’s why we make mistakes and learn from our mistakes, on the job. It’s constant learning for us, as much as our children.
Whenever I am in doubt…I write. And maybe when my kid is all grown up and I come back to these pages, I could at least figure out what we did right or what went completely wrong.
Walk along, fellow helicopter parent or not… will ya please?