My Very Own Wonder Years

This past Sunday, my husband and I sat on our kitchen table and started remembering some of our childhood and teenage-hood memories. I don't know why but I feel like we actually bonded having that little talk. We shared some things that we have never shared with each other, little moments that back then were part of our daily lives, things that every kid/teenager experiences, and now looking back you realize it helped you grow, it shaped your personality in the person you are now, it hurt, it made you happy, it brought you down, it made you feel like a million bucks, and sometimes it right down made you feel silly, even when you look back at it now.

Things like getting stood up for the first dance you get asked to, that cute boy/girl you were crushing on (and had never spoken to you) finally talks to you and someone ruins the moment, the times you cheated on tests (including the time you got caught, and the time you realized it was wrong), the things you see your parents go through and didn't understand back then and now you do, the time you find out significant things about your friends, the time you get your first "broken heart", the time you realize you're growing and how change can be hard to take. I like to call them my "Kevin Arnold Moments".

I guess what made us have the conversation is that ever since The Wonder Years started playing on Netflix, we have been hooked. Well, mostly me. I watch it while I cook, clean, run on a treadmill, when I have little insomnia episodes, and well, when I get a little break. I think Alex also tries to sneak an episode here and there.

One reason why I love this show so much is because I remember watching it with my dad as a little girl in Peru (dubbed in Spanish of course, now I understand some of the jokes better, haha). My dad loved the show too, I don't have a clear memory of my age, I'm guessing 7-9...but I remember sitting down with my dad to watch it, and also watching it the whole week I was hospitalized when I was 8 for severe asthma episodes. Yep, Kevin, Winnie, and Paul were my TV friends.

It's so interesting though, now watching it as an adult, it's a complete different perspective than when I was a child. As a kid, Kevin Arnold and his friends looked so old to me. And they were only 12 when the show started. I remember thinking I couldn't wait until I would go through those moments! (Especially when I moved to the US). My first dance,  having a locker, having a cafeteria at school, having my first job, graduating, somebody who liked me liked me, being allowed to go to the mall and the movies with my friends and no chaperones! I remember thinking, Man, I can't wait to be a big kid like them. Now as I watch it as an adult, I can't help but think, Omygosh, that already happened. I already lived that! Not just as a child and teenager, but also a young adult in college. It went by so fast, too fast. It feels like a dream I had and I just woke up. This week, one of my closest college friends referred to that time as the "primavera de nuestra juventud", "the spring of our youth", and yes, spring it was.

But not only does it make me look back on those times, it makes me realize that my very own children will experience all that. You see, as a kid, I would look at Kevin's parents, especially his dad, as super strict, and to be honest I don't even remember him much, I would mainly focus on the kids. Now as an adult, wait not just an adult, but as a mother, I look at them differently, and as I listen to Kevin narrate his story I realize what an important role they played on his life during those years. As I watched an episode last week, I found myself all teary-eyed. It was after Winnie had broken up with Kevin. That wasn't what made me cry, the kid was only 14 and really the whole time I was just like "awww that's sad", and then I got to this part. Please watch for yourself:

I couldn't help but think, my little Alejandrito is going to go through that. He is going to have his poor little teenage heart broken sometime. And even though it may seem silly, it really might hurt him. Even if they weren't real feelings, it could be his self-esteem. But I love what Kevin's dad tells him, "I wish I could say it gets easier". I don't think he just meant that about Winnie Cooper, I think he meant life in general and that this was part of growing up.Man, and then the way Kevin holds on to his dad, it shows that he's still a little boy who needs his father's comfort, even if at school he tries to be the cool kid and  has a girlfriend and what not. I really hope my kids will feel like they can turn to me like that when they grow up.
Anyway, don't hate on me for being sappy. This is a random post and I'm working on some updates. but hey I had to get this out of my system...sighs.....and I love the Wonder Years.