Why We All Should Watch This Is Us

Gah.

You guys.

It’s the morning after the Superbowl, and if you’re a This Is Us fan, you know what also happened last night. I’ll try my very hardest not to spoil anything in this post, but I’m guessing most of you have heard about this epic episode, even if you don’t watch.

And if you don’t, I can’t recommend it enough. Yes, it’s very emotional, as I’m sure you’ve heard. And yes, you’ll probably cry in *most* episodes, but oh my, I think it’s such an important show. Because it reminds you what IS important. Dare I say, this show has made me a better person? Too much? Is that weird? Maybe. But I swear to you, it has.

There is a character who dies. It’s not really a spoiler, because you find this out early on, in Season 1. And this particular person’s death (not saying he or she!) has a major impact on so many lives. Sure, this has happened before in tons of shows and movies before…but not in this unique way. Trust me on this. Watch.

Last night, after watching The Big Episode, I went to kiss my kids good night and paused.

I went in my oldest’s room first and my girls were snuggled up to one another. The younger one right up against her big sister, and the big sister clutching her beloved heart pillow she’s had since she was a tiny toddler. It was a gift from her Mom Mom. It’s ratty and lost all the puffy filling, but it will go off to college with her, no doubt.

There was a white crayon on the windowsill above the bed. (Apparently this is one of the things you do when you want a Snow Day – there’s a whole list, as I’m sure those of you with school age kids know!)

I paused and I noticed.

And I lost it when I spotted that darn white crayon.

All of these little things that I usually pass by. The sweetness in their little faces. The connection these little girls have for one another that they hate to be apart, even to sleep.

The innocence of the middle schooler hugging her ratty heart pillow and the childlike wonder of a little white crayon on the sill, representing a wish for a day to stay home.

I stood there a lot longer than I would have any other night and took it all in. Yes, because of This Is Us. 

I let myself go for just a minute – to imagine this empty room one day and took a picture in my mind of the white crayon sitting there.

And I cried big giant crocodile tears at these little things that are such huge things.

That are everything.

Sometimes I need to go there. When we start going through the motions, the day to day busyness of life. When everything starts to feel like a giant checklist. Grocery Store. Cook. Laundry. Dinner. Sports Practices. Pack Lunches. Set the coffeemaker. More Laundry. Clean. Repeat. Check. Check. Check.

Sometimes we need to remember that in all of this is our beautiful life…the things we prayed for once upon a time. This is the childhood we’re giving our babies, that will shape them into the adults they become.

And when I forget, this show reminds me.

We woke up to hear that the white crayon worked and schools were closed.

But today, I didn’t stop and think about all the errands I now wouldn’t get chance to run, and the things that wouldn’t get accomplished now that they were home.

Which sadly, I’ve done.

Instead, still remembering last night’s episode, I joined in on the cheering, and we made Snow Day Pancakes together.

Because This Is Us shows me – week after emotional week – that these are the moments that make life beautiful. That make it ours.

One day, they’ll think back on their life growing up, and I hope they remember the feeling of sleepover snuggles and the hope of white crayons and the happiness in Snow Day pancakes.

And as this show brutally portrays (but in the most bru-tiful way (thank you Glennon Doyle for this oh-so-fitting word!), this life is short, and to make it count. Not in huge, over-the-top, expensive, or elaborate ways. But in the exact opposite, in fact. In the day-to-day moments that make up our life. This show teaches us that THESE are the things that last. That the lessons we teach, the feelings we impart, the long talks on the side of the bed at night, the reactions in our voices when they tell us something we might not have wanted to hear…and even the looks on our faces when we don’t say a word – are what are remembered.

And it’s also the dancing in the family room.

The baking in the kitchen and laughing when the flour spills everywhere.

The conversations at the dining room table.

And the feeling that is a full couch of your favorite people watching a movie on a Friday night.

It’s lazy Saturday mornings with nowhere to be.

It’s the car rides to church on Sunday mornings when Dad tries to get three tired, grumpy kids to laugh.

The safety of climbing in your parents’ bed when a nightmare strikes at two in the morning.

It’s the glorious mess on Christmas morning.

This is where life happens.

And it’s such a good one when we stop to look.

Thanks, Pearson Family.

You may be just a fictional family on TV, but I bet through a certain person’s death, you’ve made a lot of people stop, think…and really live.