There’s a new television show on NBC, “This is Us.” The story revolves around now-grown triplets and their parents. The children – Randall, Kate and Kevin – have grown into adults with their own problems and successes. The show goes back and forth in time between Randall, Kate and Kevin’s parents, Jack and Rebecca, and their parents.
The show is extremely well written, acted and directed, and it’s pulled me in since the first episode. What’s most intriguing is how the characters from three generations are authentically linked.
The children swear they won’t repeat the mistakes their parents made, a promise their parents made about their parents. That generational connection rings true with so many families, no matter their culture or race.
This show also makes me think about the ties that connect me with my family. I immediately thought about my grandfather during one episode that featured Jack’s grandfather arriving in New York City as a young man.
My grandfather also came to this country as a young man and said seeing the Statue of Liberty was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life. He believed America was the land of opportunity, and he reared his children to believe they could achieve all their dreams if they worked hard.
The story also includes the family’s fascination with the Pittsburg Steelers professional football team. Football played a huge part in my family, both on my mom’s side and my dad’s. My dad loved the New Orleans Saints. He kept up with their trades and he knew all the players. Every summer, he’d say “This is the year. This is the year the Saints are going to the Super Bowl.” As a typical teenager, I’d roll my eyes and mutter that the Saints would never go to the Super Bowl. I swallowed that humble pie and toasted my dad up in heaven when the Saints not only went to the Super Bowl in 2009, but they won the title.
On my mom’s side of the family, the Buffalo Bills were the favored team since we lived less than 100 miles from Buffalo. They were also big St. Bonaventure basketball fans since that college was in our hometown, and I still find myself rooting for the Bonnies whenever I see they’re playing. Even though my uncles didn’t play football in high school or college, they loved playing Wiffle ball on Sunday afternoons. After going to Mass and then finishing Sunday dinner, my aunts and uncles would clean up the kitchen. The aunts gathered around the kitchen table for a cup of coffee, and our uncles sprawled out on the living room couches to watch professional football on television.
We knew our uncles would be more than happy to engage in a quick game of Wiffle ball during half-time, and everybody played. Those were great memories, and that love of sports continues with my generation and the next.
My family believes the LSU Tigers hang the moon. And the stars. And, probably, the universe. Purple and gold aren’t just colors on the color wheel, they’re sacred colors to be used in every aspect of one’s life – coffee mugs, outdoor furniture and, especially clothing.
Almost everyone in my family owns purple hoodies, jackets, shirts, pants, socks and T-shirts. Christmas trees are not complete unless there’s at least a dozen LSU ornaments on the tree.
Even though we live in Texas, the traditions live on. We still follow LSU basketball and football but have combined that with keeping up with the Aggies. There’s maroon A&M ornaments on our Christmas tree every year, and basketball season’s not complete unless we’re watching my husband’s alma mater, the University of Kentucky, work their way up the Final Four ladder.
Because this is us.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.