Parenthood

If you’re reading this blog post in hopes of getting parenting tips or my views on the experience of parenthood, I’m sorry, but you’ll be disappointed. Instead, I’m bringing back Stuff Devon Likes for a very special review of one of my favorite TV shows: Parenthood. So you won’t be getting any parenting tips from me, but who knows? Maybe you can get some from the show. You’ll have to watch it to find out.

Parenthood is an NBC drama about an extended family, the Bravermans. Zeek and Camille are a newly-elderly couple with four grown children. Adam, the oldest, and his wife Christina have two children, Haddie and Max. Sarah has two teenagers, Amber and Drew. Crosby is a bachelor. And Julia, the youngest, has a daughter named Sydney with her husband Joel. The show is based on an 80’s movie of the same name, but the plot differs greatly. The extended family dynamic of the show gives it a really cool vibe and connects all characters in neat ways.

Parenthood was created by Jason Katims, the same guy who created Friday Night Lights, and it has the same amount of heart as his previous show. I don’t know what it is about this guy, but he really knows how to make great TV. If you’ve seen Friday Night Lights, you’ll know what I’m talking about, and you’ll definitely want to give Parenthood a try. Not only does it do a great job of connecting you with the characters and pulling at your heartstrings, but it also features a ton of Friday Night Lights actors as well.

As the title suggests, the show is primarily about being a parent. It explores what that means for each of the different characters at different points in their lives. The show starts out with Sarah, a single mom, moving back into her parents’ house with her two teenagers. What does parenting look like for her? For her two elderly parents who are no long empty-nesters? What does parenting look like for Adam and Christina, who find out at the beginning of the show that their eight-year-old son has Asperger’s? Or for Julia, who’s trying to balance her hectic work life as a lawyer with her responsibilities as a parent and a wife? And it turns out that the one character to whom you think the title “Parenthood” doesn’t apply, Crosby, actually has a five-year-old that he’s just finding out about. What does parenthood look like for him? These are the questions set up in just the first episode of the show.

Throughout the series, we see the Braverman clan go through all sorts of things that families can relate to. Holiday gatherings, birthday parties, weddings, adoptions, career changes, marital conflicts, rebellious kids, and major health crises. They face all of these and more throughout the course of the show. But the cool thing is that it always feels organic and realistic, not forced or fake. And the Bravermans always face these things together, as a family.

The show features a lot of really cool relationships throughout the years. The four Braverman siblings spend plenty of time together, and we get to see what it’s like for their significant others to be a part of such a close-knit family. Many storylines are dedicated to how the kids in the family interact with their siblings and cousins. And since they’re all in one big family, there are plenty of opportunities for unique, cross-generational character pairings in storylines. One of my favorite things about the show is that since it’s about a family, almost every major cast member appears in every episode, even if they don’t play a major role in that episode’s story. The Bravermans are always getting together for some special family event, so you always get to see your favorite character or characters.

And unlike other shows on TV, the main characters generally are there to stay. Like all families do, they change and grow and even fight sometimes. But they always stick around. The main cast stayed the same throughout the series’ six seasons, with the exception of one major departure and one major addition in season four. But again, the change was organic. It felt like something a normal family would go through.

I could go on and on about how amazing the cast of the show is. But all I’ll say is that the actors capture their characters so well. Each character has so much depth, even from the very start, and as they grow and change, the actors do a great job of keeping up with them. The kids on the show are wonderful actors, and it’s really fun to see how much they change over the years. Plus the show has some amazing guest stars, some who stick around for major arcs and others who just show up for an episode or two, but who all leave the show better for having them.

Parenthood ended its six-season run last week with an amazing, heart-wrenching finale. I was sad to see it go, but I was so happy that it got the ending it deserved. And I’m so glad that I was able to enjoy such a wonderful show when it was on the air. The first five seasons of Parenthood are on Netflix, and I’m sure they’ll put the last season up around the same time they release it on DVD. Parenthood is definitely worth giving a shot. If you just want to see a wholesome show about a family you can root for, check out Parenthood, and let me know what you think of it. Thanks for reading, friends, and I’ll see you next week!

Livid

It was 7:30 pm on a Wednesday night. I was on my way back to Waco from my grandfather’s funeral that afternoon. I had spent five hours in the car that morning driving to Arkansas, and I had left at 4:30 pm so that I could make the five-hour trek back to Waco in time to get to bed by 10:00. Everything was going according to plan, until I saw brake lights up ahead. Lots and lots of brake lights. And that’s when I knew that I was not going to make it home at a decent time.

I couldn’t tell how far ahead the traffic jam started. It had to be at least a mile, and there were cars piling up behind me for at least two miles back. I had no idea what was going on or how long I was going to be stuck there. So I put my car in park and waited. And waited. And waited. I sat in the same spot for nearly two hours before traffic finally let up so that I could continue along my journey. And by the time my car finally started moving again, I was so angry I could stand it. I was livid.

Now I think I have a pretty basic understanding of how traffic works. As long as everyone stays in their lane and follows the road signs, things tend to go pretty smoothly. Sometimes traffic has to slow down because of lane closures and construction, but I can handle that. I don’t mind going a little bit more slowly through construction zones because I can understand that. What I do mind, however, is not moving. Just sitting there, on the road, in my car, with nothing to do, when I could be at home doing something much more productive. That bothers me quite a bit.

Another thing that bothers me about traffic is not knowing why. Why aren’t the cars moving? I didn’t see any signs about construction work. I wasn’t near any big cities. It wasn’t a major travel holiday or even rush hour. So I couldn’t understand why I was forced to sit there on I–30 for two hours when I could have been making my way home after a long, exhausting day. And not knowing the answer to the “why” question—or having any way of getting an answer to that question—frustrated me to the point that I became pretty upset.

When traffic finally let up, I saw the cars ahead of me move. Except for the truck right in front of me. It didn’t budge. I saw cars moving ahead like nothing had happened, and yet here was this truck directly in front of me doing nothing. My first instinct was to get angry with the person in front of me. But then I realized that he or she had probably just fallen asleep while sitting still on the road for two hours, and I had to admit that I had considered taking a nap myself had I not been distracted by the episode of Parks and Recreation I watched. So instead of seeing the person in front of me as an antagonistic obstacle standing between me and my destination, I saw him or her as a relatable comrade in this situation who was probably just as frustrated as I was and who probably just wanted to get home. I gave my steering wheel a quick push to honk in the most non-menacing a way I could. The person in front of me awoke, and we all drove off as if the two-hour-long traffic jam had never happened.

As I drove forward, I saw police lights on the side of the road. I didn’t get a good look as I was passing by, but it looked like there had been some kind of car wreck a mile or so ahead of where I had been stopped for two hours, and that was what had caused the holdup. I realized that while I was sitting safely in my car fuming over losing a couple of hours of my life, someone else could have been in real danger of losing much more than that. Their health. Maybe even their life. Or for others, maybe a loved one. And I realized that my fury over being stuck on the road for a couple of hours was probably unnecessary. I said a prayer for the people involved in the wreck, and I made it home safely, although a little later than I had hoped I would.

There are things in this world that make us angry. We all have pet peeves. And I’m sure most of us get frustrated when we get stuck in traffic. But the truth is that getting stuck in traffic, like most of the things we tend to get angry about, isn’t really that big of a deal. There are much worse things that could happen, and there are people out there right now dealing with those things. So the next time I’m feeling livid, I’m going to do my best to look outside myself and see things from another person’s point of view. I may not be able to change my situation, but at least I can find something fun to distract myself, join in with the others who are stuck in the same spot, and laugh it off until it’s all over.

Progress

This has been a time of progress for me in several areas of my life. I finished my first semester of seminary, and I’m now progressing from basic Intro courses to more difficult ones. I was recently promoted at work from a Ministry Apprentice to a Ministry Associate. I’ve been seeing some improvements in my health as a result of changes I made in the latter part of last year. And I’m getting involved with some awesome new projects that are challenging me creatively and spiritually. That seems like a great deal of progress to me, and I’m very pleased with it.

However, progress can be complicated. It can be really exciting, but it comes with responsibilities and pressures that can sometimes be intimidating. Change in any form can be scary, and even though progress is by definition a positive kind of change, that doesn’t take away the frightening edge it sometimes has. So while I’m really pleased with the progress I’m making in my life, it’s also got its downsides. Here are a few things I try to keep in mind when I’m facing progress and all that it entails.

Progress is a good thing.

As scary as change can be, progress is always good. It’s a step forward, a step in the right direction. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’re progressing or just changing for the sake of change, but if you’re changing for the better, that’s progress, and it’s worth it even if it is a little unnerving. I know that every step I take in school is one step closer to graduating and having to face the real world. It’s also a step towards increasingly more difficult classes. And while those things are mysterious and intimidating, they’re also wonderful. The reason I came to school was to get an education that I could use in ministry. Every step brings me a little bit closer to that. And that’s a very good thing.

You can handle it.

Progress usually comes with new responsibilities. For example, being promoted at work means that I’m expected to perform on a higher level. It just comes with the territory. But that isn’t a bad thing. What’s great about progress is that it’s a step-by-step process. You spend time working on something until you master it, and then you’re ready to take the next step. As long as the progress you’re making is in the right amount and at the right time, you don’t have anything to worry about. You can handle it. Don’t let fear of more responsibility hold you back from taking that next step.

It’s a big deal, but keep it in perspective.

Progress is something to celebrate. It’s something to be proud of. There’s nothing wrong with sharing it. But it’s also not the only thing that matters. It’s important to recognize and celebrate steps forward in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones, but we have to remember that each step is just that: a step. It’s not the end goal. It’s not the only thing that matters. And it’s not the end of the world if taking the next step takes a while. Progress is great, but it’s not the only thing that matters. We have to keep it in perspective.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

So you’ve made some progress. You’ve taken the next step. That’s great! Enjoy it. Cherish it. Use it as an opportunity to grow and challenge yourself. But don’t get ahead of yourself. This is something I really struggle with. When I check something off my to-do list, I immediately look ahead to what’s next. It’s something I’m working on. If we’re constantly looking too far ahead to the next thing, we won’t have time to appreciate what we have right now. We won’t be able to enjoy our accomplishments because we already feel like we’re behind on the next big thing. That’s not the way it should be. So enjoy the progress you’ve made, and don’t get ahead of yourself.

That’s what I’ve been focusing on lately as I’m going through this phase of taking the next steps in my life. Hopefully something in here has been helpful to you as you’re progressing or trying to work towards progress in some area of your life. I hope you’re all doing well! Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week.

When Things Get Weird

Last week, I wrote a blog post called Back to Normal, because I thought that was where I was heading when I came back to Waco from Christmas break. But it seems that I was wrong, at least at first. Because my first week back hasn’t felt very normal at all. In fact, it’s felt very odd, maybe even a little bit strange. And that can be unsettling.

As most of you probably already know, I’m a creature of habit. I thrive when I’m on a consistent schedule. I love to plan out my day and then follow that plan precisely. But unfortunately, that’s not always how things go. Sometimes people you make plans with end up being late. Sometimes you want to go for a run at the gym, but there are a ton of people there still clinging to their New Year’s Resolutions to get fit, so you can’t. Sometimes you want to go to sleep, but your fan broke and you can’t sleep without it, so you just sort of lie there. And you feel weird, and a little bit disappointed. But then you remind yourself that it’s going to be OK.

Many of you may not understand this, but for me, when things get weird, I tend to feel insecure. I like feeling like I have at least some sort of control over the situation I’m in. That’s why I like to schedule out my days. And when I feel like I don’t have control over my situation, my attitude starts to go downhill. I get frustrated and sometimes even scared. And even when things turn out for the best, I’m still often disappointed by the fact that things didn’t go the way I planned. It’s silly, I know, but it’s my default way of reacting when weird stuff happens.

But this past week has given me opportunities to react differently, and I’ve tried to take advantage of them. Because most of the time, when things don’t go as planned, it’s not the end of the world. It can often be a good thing, but I can’t see that until I let go of my desire to control the situation. So that’s what I’ve been trying to do this past week when things got weird, and I think I’ve had a modest amount of success.

I’m trying to learn to just go with it. To be flexible. I think life would be a lot easier if we weren’t so hung up on what we want that we were able to just let things be. The truth is that I can’t control everything. In reality, I have very little control over anything, which is why I tend to get upset when my false feeling of control is undermined. But lack of control doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, I’m not qualified to have control over much, and it’s pretty arrogant of me to think that I am. When things don’t go the way I planned, it’s an opportunity for me to be humbly reminded that I don’t always know what’s best.

Because things have a tendency to work themselves out. And often it’s the days that don’t go as planned that turn out to be the best days. So when things get weird, I’m going to embrace it and see what happens. Who knows? It might turn out to be better than I ever could have planned.

Back to Normal

My Christmas break is officially over. Over the break, I spent two and a half weeks back home with my family, and it was glorious. I got to see a ton of people that I hadn’t spent time with since I moved. I got to hang out with my family a lot and share some really special moments with them. And I took some time to be super-lazy and watch a ridiculous amount of Netflix. Sounds like the perfect break, right? Well, it was, and I loved every second of it.

But all good things must come to an end. Last Saturday, I loaded up my car and made the trek back to Waco, Texas. Don’t get me wrong. I love Waco. I love my apartment, my school, my job, and my friends here. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about leaving my family and my wonderful break behind as I return to the real world. I loved my time at home, and I didn’t want it to be over. It’s very strange transitioning from living in a house full of the sounds of a laughing toddler to a quiet apartment. But life must go on, so here I am in Waco, preparing to get back into my regular routine. It’s time to get back to normal.

But “back to normal” doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The truth is that I thrive when I’m on a regular schedule. Breaks confuse me because they throw my internal clock off, and my days lose their regular structure. So if nothing else, I’m at least looking forward to having that structure back now that school is starting again. The regular schedule is good for me. It keeps me efficient, and I always know exactly what I need to be doing. So I’m definitely looking forward to that.

Another great thing about getting back to normal is going back to work. I love my job, my co-workers, and the work that we do. It’s a great place to be, and I get a great sense of fulfillment out of it. Plus it just feels good to work hard to earn money. It’s something that I really enjoy, and I’m looking forward to getting back to that.

Also, “back to normal” means back to school. And in case you guys haven’t noticed, I absolutely love seminary. I love the professors, I love my classmates, and I love learning about God and his word. I’ve never been more excited to learn than I am right now, and it feels good. I’m definitely ready to get back in class.

So while I’ve loved being home and will definitely miss it, I’m also looking forward to getting back to normal. Because normal is actually really special and meaningful. I’m so thankful for my “normal” life in Waco, because it’s anything but mundane. Here’s to getting back to normal, and to a wonderful new semester.