I’m a little lazy today so here is the episode review from the website. It might be a good idea to watch the first season which is now available on DVD and this episode online just for your reference. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Adam’s overwhelmed by family needs and increasing demands at work from boss Gordon Flint. Zeek is overly confident in his fix-it skills as he tries to repair a leak in the guesthouse. Joel is enlisted by the family to help. Sarah tries to find her place in the world, as Crosby prepares for a visit from Jasmine and Jabbar. Meanwhile, Kristina tries to teach Haddie how to drive and, along with behavioral aide Gaby, help her son Max through a crisis.
A lot of things were left out, but here’s what I learned from this episode. By the way, it’s called I hear you, I see you because Zeek (dad) says it to his wife when she gives him ‘the look.’ It was something they picked up during their marriage counseling.
- The Birds and the Bees. Sydney asks Joel and Julia if she and the rest of the family came from a vagina. Oh my! I know this will be one of those things that will be difficult to prepare for, let alone discuss with Pinky when the time comes. Joel and Julia did their best to be as honest and real as possible. Julia said she read 10 books on sex education and Joel kept trying to redirect the discussion with an offer to get some ice cream. The truth is, your child will always have a rebuttal question after every answer you give them. Every answer will open their curious mind to a plethora of other questions. Therefore, be prepared to have an answer for everything, whether it be about the birds and the bees or some other off the wall topic your child brings to the table.
- You can’t protect your child from everything. Kristina is teaching Haddie how to drive. Kristina is nervous the whole episode, she reminds me of my mother, always thinking of the worst. Kristina tells Adam that Haddie’s not ready to drive, when really she’s not ready to let Haddie drive on her own. Kristina finally admits that she is worried about Haddie getting into a horrible accident and seeing her helpless body lying dead in the street. I am reminded that we can only go so far to protect our children. At a certain age, the rest is up to them and we must trust ourselves that we have raised our children to be good citizens and make well rounded decisions. And of course, we must trust in God to protect them when we can’t. Right now Daddy and I are the only one’s who can protect Pinky because she is still a little baby, but I know one day I will have to let go, and let God.
- How to stand up to you in-laws. Joel stands up to Zeek in a way that most of us dream of standing up to our in-laws. Joel is a licensed contractor agrees to help Zeek fix a leaky roof. Zeek constantly ridicules Joel and won’t let him do what he has been trained to do. Joel decides to fix the roof himself, Zeek continues with his aggravating comments and pushes Joel to the edge. Joel speaks out in a very firm, yet respectful manner and gives Zeek a piece of his mind. Zeek is surprised but respects Joel’s honesty and even gives him praise. It’s true, no matter how you put it, you will always have a run-in with the in-laws and in some cases, the out-laws. This clip taught me that no matter how respectful of a person you are toward your in-laws, or anyone for that matter, that you simply can’t let them walk all over you just to save face. Sometimes you have to put your foot down and nip it in the bud so to speak because the longer you hold out, the harder the slap if you know what I mean. Going with that same thought, I think when you speak up and defend yourself, people tend to actual respect you. If they don’t, it’s their problem and not yours.
- Don’t stop doing favors for your siblings.Adam uses Sarah’s idea about a shoe remote/devise for kids to share with his boss in order to save his job. Sarah finds out and is a upset that he ‘stole’ her idea and passed it off as his own. Sarah tries to confront Adam about the situation and he thinks she is overreacting. He says that he has done a lot for Sarah and all he ever expects is a Thank You. Sarah, wants more, she wants recognition since the boss loved ‘her’ idea! Adam finally comes to his senses, comes clean with his boss and offers his sister Sarah a job. I absolutely love my siblings. We always come through for each other and this scene taught me that you can never stop doing favors for your siblings. You should never expect anything in return because they are family!
- I hear you, I see you is a metaphor. Finally, throughout the show, Zeek says, I hear you, I see you to Camille every time she gives him the eye. She gives him the eye every time he starts slipping into his old ways. I learned that you can teach an old dog, new tricks – through marriage counseling! No matter how bad a marriage gets, you should always attempt to fix it before letting go, just as Zeek and Camille are exemplifying. The dating is fun, the wedding is blissful but I have learned that marriage is complex and a lot of hard work. It’s even harder when you start building a family. However, if you want things to work bad enough, they will. I hear you, I see you is a metaphor for communication and making an effort to work things out, at least that’s what I got from it.
I hope you enjoyed my review of organized chaos about Braverman Family. Tune in tomorrow on NBC 10/9c for another episode of Parenthood! And, look out for my next post about What I learned on Parenthood later this week!