The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: What TV show, movie or book is most similar to your life?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:

Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I originally thought my “show” would be “Modern Family,” but after seeing Froggie’s post from last week, I think she wins that honor. However, I still believe that Claire and Phil were created based on the writers spying on my husband and me.

Then I did some more thinking and realized that the show most similar to my own life is “Desperate Housewives.” I’m not desperate and I’m only a housewife when on maternity leave, but the women on the show have not always been “housewives” either. I’m also not saying that my life is full of crazy drama. It’s more about how I can relate to each of the women on the show and have qualities similar to all of them. I will elaborate further.

I am like Susan (Teri Hatcher) in that I am clumsy and can’t cook anything complex (I can bake though). I also care a lot about my friends and will help them out in any way I can. I even try to help strangers and people I’m not as fond of from time to time. I love my kids and will do anything to ensure they have a good life.

I am like Bree (Marcia Cross) in that I love baking for my neighbors (challahs, in my case). I also love being a hostess and throwing parties and gatherings. I sometimes get uptight over things and strive for perfection. I love that Bree was entrepreneurial with her food business and I tend to be the same way with my book blog (even though I don’t make money from it).

I am like Lynette (Felicity Huffman) in that I’m the “bad cop” in the family. (Similar to Claire from “Modern Family,” oddly enough.) I like to be right about a lot of things and usually do most of the planning and scheduling in my home. I handle stress the same way she does, as well. I’m also very assertive like she is.

I am like Gabby (Eva Longoria) in that I’m very girly and a total shopaholic (thanks to the thrift store, in my case). I love buying clothes and making myself look pretty. I try to be an individual, even while raising kids. I also get along well with gay guys. :) I’m loyal to my friends, as well.

Finally, I am like Mary Alice (voice of Brenda Strong) in that I will do anything to protect my family and look after them. I wouldn’t take my own life, but the well being and safety of my family is very important to me. I also care about what is going on in my friends’ lives and focus on them more than myself, sometimes. Since Mary Alice is the narrator of the show (still an integral part after she killed herself in the first episode of season one), she is always concerned with everyone’s lives and coming up with philosophical thoughts for the way things are. I could almost see her being a blogger, if people could blog from beyond.

In the opening theme of the show, there is an image of all the women under a tree and they’re catching the apples that fall. I thought it made sense to my subject line, as the idiom “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” means there is a lot of similarity from one person to another, usually within a family. In my neighborhood, there’s a family-like atmosphere. We all look after one another, as well as each other’s kids. Everyone can be counted on for different things amongst my group of friends. I’m usually the one who hosts gatherings and makes challah for everyone at different times. My husband volunteers at our shul on the tech committee. There’s a great sense of community throughout, which is something that is also apparent on “Desperate Housewives.” No one is related within the community of Fairview (or on Wisteria Lane, to be more specific), but they all help each other out with babysitting, cooking, taking care of someone who is sick, consoling each other over a bad day, etc. They end up being like family to one another. That is truly the core (excuse the pun) of the show, regardless of the crazy situations from outsiders and other soap opera like scenarios that come up. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of similarities between the lead characters and myself, either.