In Omnia Paratus. Three little words I learned thanks to Rory and her experience with The Life and Death Brigade at Yale. It means “prepared in all things; ready for anything”. It’s a great mindset to have in life, but easier said than done when life gets complicated or the unexpected happens.
I started watching Gilmore Girls the same year I moved back up to this busy city for work, after going back home to live in my small town of Islamorada for a couple more years. I remember I was trying to get over a very painful and destructive relationship and when an opportunity came up for me to start fresh and be on my own again, I couldn’t wait for the chance to have a clean slate. The show was a bright light for me during a dark time. Once I saw the first show, I was hooked and from then on, it always had a special place in my heart.
If you have never watched Gilmore Girls, stop what you are doing right now and start watching it! (I mean stop reading, seriously, and just do it!) Netflix was invented for series like these. Actually, even before Netflix I saw the series many times (more than I care to admit), but being able to stream the show whenever I want now has been so convenient. Sometimes there’s not a lot of great quality shows on tv, and as I said in a previous post, getting rid of cable was seriously one of the best things we ever did!
But back to the show. I fell in love with the mother/daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory right from the start. It reminded me of the friendship my mom and I have always had. The characters really spoke to me and the small town reminded me of home. Lorelai and Rory’s quick wit, sharp intellect, sarcasm and fast talking convos have always made me laugh and straight up want to be best friends with them. Friday night dinners with the family were always interesting and the loving, yet tense relationships between the characters were so easily relatable. Luke, well Luke is just my favorite guy and no matter how many times I see the shows, I still hopelessly fall in love with the anticipation of him and Lorelai finally making it work between them. Of course, a man after my heart (much like my adorable husband) he supplies endless amounts of coffee, which is A ok in my book. And the coffee drinking!!! Two girls after my own heart, drinking coffee round the clock, although personally, I can only drink my coffee if it’s drowned in creamer, but still…we are kindred coffee spirits! I love all the characters, including all of Rory’s love interests, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jess, the “bad boy” who’s had a few bad breaks. He’s a writer, a poet, and deep down, a good hearted guy (much like his Uncle Luke) and IMHO, has always been the best fit for Rory. I liked all her loves, but it always seemed like Jess really got her and hey, he may not be completely out of the picture even now, wink wink…more on that later. May I add that he, Milo Ventimiglia I mean, is also a lead in my new favorite program, This is Us. Yep #TeamJess all the way!!!
In the beginning of 2016 I was having some health issues. I was definitely not prepared for this setback. I struggled to get out of bed most days. I wasn’t sleeping much. I was unable to work. It was uncomfortable, demotivating and depressing. It took me 9 months to figure out it was my anxiety that was effecting me and to an answer to my discomfort. I could have felt like I had lost a lot of time. Truthfully, some days I did. I mean let’s face it, I could have basically been preparing to give birth to another child during that time. But most days I tried to look at it as a blessing. It was a call for me to slow down and take care of myself. No one, especially a mom, is able to be and do her best for anyone else if she’s not putting that oxygen mask on herself first. So, since I had a lot of down time, I rewatched all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls at my leisure and relived every fun, witty, sweet, emotional, sarcastic moment that I have loved so much over the years. It really brought me so much joy. It also prepared me for the release of four short movies Netflix put out last November to revive the much loved series. The shows, appropriately called Gilmore girls: A Year in the Life, takes you through Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall in Stars Hollow. It starts with Lorelai’s first whiff of snow and ends with a crisp fall and four sweet words that I won’t reveal in case you actually take my advice and watch it all from start to finish. Let’s just say I’m pretty much counting on a second revival.
Gilmore Girls fandom is like no other. I live with three other movie fanatics of Star Wars and Harry Potter, and I’m one myself. So maybe it’s not to the level of something like those movies, but it’s pretty darn special! But it’s the characters and the quaint small town of Stars Hollow that are all so unique and have created such a following. I was already out of college when I started watching the show, so I couldn’t relate as much to Rory and being in high school. Personally, I was and still am a huge fan of Lauren Graham and her character Lorelai, and ever since I watched the first episode of Gilmore Girls, I knew that if she ever did another series, I would have to follow it. Who knew that 10 years later she would be cast in a show that would include a family that would someday mirror ours in such a huge way. It wouldn’t be until a year after the show started, that our daughter would be diagnosed with autism and the storyline in Parenthood would become ever so real to us. I recently rewatched this series too. Just when you think you can’t learn any more about autism, you see that you’re now almost 10 year old daughter is very similar to Max who has Aspergers. Then you envision her as an adult, while watching Ray Romano play Lauren’s love interest, who discovers he has Aspergers as an adult. Lauren Graham has basically brought me a ton of joy as an actress. As Lorelai she kept me in stitches, and I enjoyed laughing and sometimes crying with her. As Sarah, I could relate so much to her as a family member of someone with autism and as someone who fell in love with a person with autism. It really taught me so much more about acceptance, something that we could always use more of. In both roles she wasn’t always prepared for what life threw her way and didn’t always handle it well or make the best choices, but she always tried her best. At the same time, she was always ready for an adventure! Again, she’s like my soul sister!
Lauren Graham recently published another book, Talking As Fast As I Can (From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls and Everything In Between). It was a fun read and I can totally see why she portrayed both of these characters so well. It’s witty, honest, and fun-loving, just like her characters. If you’re a fan you should definitely read it! It was great to read her story and find out how Gilmore Girls came to its fruition. In my dreams, Lauren and I have coffee together and my fast talking and wit matches hers!
As I was punching out clovers to use in a craft project with my kids, I was thinking about how lucky I was to discover Lauren Graham when I did. First in Gilmore Girls a long time ago and then to get to experience her talent again in Parenthood, another one of my all time favorite shows. Both roles came at times in my life when I was struggling and not really prepared for what was happening. I didn’t have anyone to turn to that had lived the same experiences. So I’m so grateful to have had those shows during those times and to be able to replay them on a cozy, lazy Sunday afternoon when I want to lie in bed and experience a show that not only I can relate to, but really gives you all the feels. Acting might not mean much to some, but I’m thankful that arts like acting and these kinds of roles exist to show the world the joys and struggles other humans experience in this life. It’s very easy to live in our own little bubble and get caught up in our own problems. Many times we forget that everyone around us carries burdens of their own. It reminds people that they aren’t alone. Many of us know that we’re never alone if we have our faith, but it’s helpful knowing we are also not alone in our experiences.
So a big thank you to Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls, and Parenthood for entertaining us and for creating something special on television. Thanks for being a comfort to me and a source of laughter in trying times. Leaving the clovers in the picture seemed fitting (although actual shamrocks with three leaves would have made more sense to this next point, but just go with it). It’s like a little homage to Lauren’s Irish ancestry and a symbol of the trinity in my faith. Maybe they are also a subtle reminder to me of how lucky I was to stumble upon these series when I did. All people’s stories need to be told and I believe it helps us relate more to each other as God’s children. It’s a blessing to have art imitate life a little and have it help you a little to make your way past the pain.
I do believe though that life doesn’t always prepare you for every experience you encounter. Sometimes you learn from real people you encounter every day and sometimes you learn from people playing real people. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you just have to try your very best to be ready for anything, just like the latin phrase. So I’ll be working hard to apply In Omnia Paratus in my life thanks to the Gilmores.
Blessings to you,
Darlene xo
