My horrible comfort show

Dear Blog Diary,
Ups and downs. Hug the cactus baby!

I have mixed emotions about my comfort show, How I Met Your Mother.

Like most things we love, they take us back to a time. HIMYM is the last sitcom I watched on cable. There were certainly episodes of great TV, but the show is known for the ending.

Truth: Ted is such a horrible person, Lily is a very close second, Robin is ok, people view Marshall as the good guy but he still practices sketchy values, and then there’s Barney, the best one of the group and a complete sociopath.

One of those where the show reflected the time. The writers could do asian-face, trans jokes, Barney being a dirtbag to women. Didn’t age well.

I remember it being a big deal, “they’re going to show the mother!” All my friends tuned in.

Ultimately in my life, it’s the show that my parents and I would watch on Thursdays and no fighting. This was at the end right before they divorced. Comfort. 

And I think How I Met Your Father with Hilary Duff got the shaft! It did have many “just go with it” aspects that felt unearned. HIMYM was allowed to grow into what it was whereas HIMYF did not.

Things, people, times in our lives come and go. I’ve said for many years, “good times you never get back.” The future will probably be better and you wouldn’t even want to go back – but it won’t be this.

I watched HIMYF aware of how much HIMYM meant to me and this was my opportunity to enjoy it again but as an older man – more aware with better perspective. How often do we get to know in the moment how profoundly important a thing will be in the future?

HIMYF got unexpectedly canceled after two seasons. Sometime after, a leak revealed who would be the father. Found out through an IG reel.

The sad truth is, you can’t go back even if you want to.

The practical truth is, you gotta appreciate what you have right now. 

Shit is going to happen. Things don't work out. Been through worse and will again.

But if by some miracle you get a spin-off chance to do it again, give it your all and live every moment like you'll be canceled at season 2.

Actually, best to live that way the first go of it. Make it legend...wait for it...

Best,
E
#ARTiculate