This is us

This is Norm and this is Sam.
My kids have no problem knowing who their real father is.

Thank goodness for Youtube, Netflix, and Hulu. These channels were created for people like me who suddenly have time to catch up on shows everyone else watched on television.

I am now up to Episode 15 of This is Us (Season one) and still going strong. I'd love to go back in time to the last couple of Emmy's and see the actors win their awards now that I know who they are.

Zach laughed at me because I would text him while I was watching the show. "I get it!!," I wrote at the very beginning. "Kevin, Randall, and Kate are the triplets!" Now it seems obvious, but how brilliant was the realization when it first hit? Flashbacks explain everything, just as they do in real life.

This is us

Now that Zach is engaged, I can't help but remember my son as a little boy, how gentle and protective he was with his brother and sister, and how those qualities have stayed with him as a man. I am sure those precious memories will play through my mind in a confusing, out of order video on the day of his wedding, just as they do in the show. This is my son, my family. This is us.

Every time Sam slips on his crooner's hat and sings a Sinatra tune, he takes us all back to another time. Sam loves the same music and the same hats as his father does and as Chuck enjoyed before him. It must be a Levine gene or something. Music and memories all float through our minds like the storylines do in the show. History repeats itself in my family as I would suspect it does in all families. This is Sam's legacy and he wears it well under a distinguished looking hat.

Years ago, Katie stepped out of Sylvan Lake, dripping wet and as glorious as Bo Derek. Katie will always be a ten. Anyway, I overheard someone say that Katie is so much more beautiful than either of her parents. Of course, I was pleased. Any compliment meant for my children is a compliment given to me. Then, I realized I was just duly insulted. That's okay, I would hope Katie is better looking than I ever was. My daughter has inherited the best of both sides of her family, and she carries her ancestry proudly. With the photos she scanned into the computer and the VCR tapes she transferred to Youtube, we can now thank her for having our memories treasured for life. This is us, saved somewhere in the cloud.

This is Us is a show that portrays the evolution of a family tied together through many different moments. Our family has its memories too and here is one from 1960. Please enjoy this scene of Peter beating up his older brother, Norman, and their dad enjoying his boys.