Planned Parenthood?

Modern Family, Reba, 8 Simple Rules and Roseanne. What I realized recently that all of these television programs have in common is that they all feature the same sibling dynamic. Although one would target the set-up of writing as tired, done, cliche...it has clearly been used over and over again because there is either a certain relatability, or good for laughs. All have two older girls and one youngest son. The eldest sister is popular, ditsy, perhaps even a wee bit slutty and not so stellar at reaching anywhere close to honour role mention at school. Enter the middle child; who, while perhaps has some underwritten jealousy to aforementioned older, prettier, perkier female in the line of offspring, she has an abrasive and sarcastic edge with brains to help her survive and requires a bit of guidance in her granola-esque existence to be socially accepted. Lastly the misunderstood baby of the family. He's on his own, he gets teased and tormented by the pro-estrogenic gang and is just an annoying dirty little brother. I was that little brother. I had more curse words, decorative household objets and kitchen necessities thrown at me by my older sister than I can count. Or at least could in my single digit age's existence. Growing up in my neighbourhood for a few years I had three good friends with whom we did everything together. Pool, tag, mall, bikes...kid stuff. Living on two cross streets, going to the same school, and yet we had another striking similarity like the sitcoms as written. We were all the youngest children with one older sibling living at home of the opposite sex. What many coin the 'million-dollar-family' is still common today as has been for the last couple of decades, but of course times change. Single unemployed mother of 6 or 7 with just as many baby-fadda's...do we call that the new 'hundred-dollar-family'. Isn't that how much the government gives her per month per child for allowance? While this is not intended to sound as though coming from an angle of judgement, I'll have you know my own father is the middle of five children with whom his mother in the 1930's produced them with three different father's. Just yesterday a co-worker of mine who does volunteer work for a crisis hotline was relaying a story of a woman from a troubled and unsafe marriage who refused to stay at a shelter because she did not like the riff-raff of the likes such as young women with multiple children from as many different sperm donor's that she might have to share space with. Oy for judging. In a time of 'Whatever will be will be', 'Everything happens for a reason' and 'It is what it is', we just have to try to love wholly, fully support and laugh hard with, our scripted or not; modern family.

Toodles