Thank You Mother
Tonight is the final episode of How I Met Your Mother. It is silly to think that a TV show, one of hundreds of thousands that have existed, could have such a profound meaning for me in my life. It ran for 9 years and in those 9 years, everything in my life changed. And it started with my mother.
The first episode aired on Monday night, September 19, 2005. I taped it, never watched it. I only taped it because it had the girl from Buffy and the guy who played Doogie Howser on it. It was just another new series to try, and delete if it didn’t hold my interest. Besides, my parents were visiting me in Queens and had left only a few days before. It had been a stressful week and I never got around to watching it. Two days later, I received the phone call that would forever change my life. My mother had suffered a stroke and would never recover. The next week was a whirlwind, of flights and funerals, of tears and worries. Nothing made sense. She was just here and now she was gone. Lise, the magical, wonderful person who found me held my hand through it all and has never let go since. I decided I was going to spend the rest of my life with her that week.
Returning home to an empty apartment, I struggled to find the meaning in anything. A couple of weeks went by before anything mattered again. Just staring at the television was all I could handle and when I checked the DVR, I saw there were a couple of episodes of this show I taped and I was going to delete it when I remembered the title. Mother. I watched it and I felt a little alive again. I had just met the girl of my dreams so that was not the part of the show that I was caught up in. It was the journey of this guy, Ted, about my age, who was about to go on a journey to meet his destiny. And so was I.
For nine years, the series, like all our lives, had their highs and lows. But I watched every single one of them. When I got engaged, moved to New Jersey, got married, bought a house, spent many years trying to have a child and blessed with two, the series continued. These characters, Ted, Robin, Barney, Lily, Marshall, always together and always there for one another, like a family. We lived through their lives, their highs and lows, and tonight, when this series ends, I will shed many tears, like a chapter in my life is ending. But I will hold Lise’s hand, look into the eyes of my sons and remember that my mother brought me to this point, not to look back but to look forward. And there are always repeats, in life and on TV.
So, thank you, Carter and Craig. For Ten Sessions and Slap Bet. For Buttercup and Robin Sparkles. For The Naked Man and As Fast As She Can. For yellow umbrellas and every single moment of memories and laughter you gave a sad boy who lost his mom but gained a lifetime of hope and dreams. Onward. #HIMYMfarewell
Tonight is the final episode of How I Met Your Mother. It is silly to think that a TV show, one of hundreds of thousands that have existed, could have such a profound meaning for me in my life. It ran for 9 years and in those 9 years, everything in my life changed. And it started with my mother.
The first episode aired on Monday night, September 19, 2005. I taped it, never watched it. I only taped it because it had the girl from Buffy and the guy who played Doogie Howser on it. It was just another new series to try, and delete if it didn’t hold my interest. Besides, my parents were visiting me in Queens and had left only a few days before. It had been a stressful week and I never got around to watching it. Two days later, I received the phone call that would forever change my life. My mother had suffered a stroke and would never recover. The next week was a whirlwind, of flights and funerals, of tears and worries. Nothing made sense. She was just here and now she was gone. Lise, the magical, wonderful person who found me held my hand through it all and has never let go since. I decided I was going to spend the rest of my life with her that week.
Returning home to an empty apartment, I struggled to find the meaning in anything. A couple of weeks went by before anything mattered again. Just staring at the television was all I could handle and when I checked the DVR, I saw there were a couple of episodes of this show I taped and I was going to delete it when I remembered the title. Mother. I watched it and I felt a little alive again. I had just met the girl of my dreams so that was not the part of the show that I was caught up in. It was the journey of this guy, Ted, about my age, who was about to go on a journey to meet his destiny. And so was I.
For nine years, the series, like all our lives, had their highs and lows. But I watched every single one of them. When I got engaged, moved to New Jersey, got married, bought a house, spent many years trying to have a child and blessed with two, the series continued. These characters, Ted, Robin, Barney, Lily, Marshall, always together and always there for one another, like a family. We lived through their lives, their highs and lows, and tonight, when this series ends, I will shed many tears, like a chapter in my life is ending. But I will hold Lise’s hand, look into the eyes of my sons and remember that my mother brought me to this point, not to look back but to look forward. And there are always repeats, in life and on TV.
So, thank you, Carter and Craig. For Ten Sessions and Slap Bet. For Buttercup and Robin Sparkles. For The Naked Man and As Fast As She Can. For yellow umbrellas and every single moment of memories and laughter you gave a sad boy who lost his mom but gained a lifetime of hope and dreams. Onward. #HIMYMfarewell
