If Lorleai Gilmore went to the University, she would not be reading this column. She simply would say "Oy with the poodles already!" - a phrase she coined which can be used to shut up a person who is talking nonstop about a certain topic - and keep flipping the pages until she found the comics page. Although I try to use this phrase as often as I can, simply because it is fun to say, I am about to disappoint the Lorelai Gilmores of the world by spending the next 750 words talking about one topic - the life lessons "Gilmore Girls" has taught me.
Unlike most of my peers who were able to learn about direct democracy by watching Stars Hollow town meetings held at Miss Patty's and, thanks to Luke, were exposed to an endless supply of backwards baseball caps and plaid flannel shirts long before a walk down Rugby Road was part of their commute home, I didn't start watching "Gilmore Girls" until my sister lent me the DVDs last summer. Six months and three boyfriends for Rory later, I was sad to finish the series because "Gilmore Girls" is more than just a show for me; it is a case study on life which offers many invaluable lessons.
Apart from the obvious lessons - don't let your mom wear jorts on your first day of school, the plural of a cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac and life is short so talk fast - one takeaway life lesson is to value Friday night dinners with your family. When I was younger, I took for granted the fact that my family sat down for dinner together every night at 6 p.m. One of the things I miss the most when I am at college is not having my family make fun of me always making it to the table right before we say the blessing, hearing my mom bemoan the fact people always call right as we're sitting down to eat and having to repeat everything I say two or three time since my sister can never hear it correctly the first time. So on those special occasions when I do get to go home, I make sure I am around for family dinners, especially if we're having shrimp enchiladas. And for those Friday nights when I am in Charlottesville, I have a standing dinner date with the Friday Night Dinner Club. Better than the Breakfast Club, it's comprised of me and three of my close friends, and we use dinner to debrief each other about the long week and compare our weekend plans. Since we can't afford to switch out dinner maids every week like Emily - or afford maids at all for that matter - we simply make it our goal to try a new restaurant each week.
A second important lesson I learned from "Gilmore Girls" is that you shouldn't forget to talk to your grandparents no matter how busy life gets. The Captain and Florence easily could give Richard and Emily a run for their money. Whenever I walk into the door of their split-level home, in true Richard and Emily fashion, the first thing they ask me is if I want a special soda - their term for a Shirley Temple. And unlike the pink cocktail Emily concocted for Rory's 21st birthday, this special soda won't leave me with a hangover in the morning. Even though I'm one of 21 grandchildren, on the first of every month without fail, they send me the Urban family calendar along some spending money and a handwritten note about what they're up to. I return the favor and shoot them an email in return about what I'm doing.
This life lesson really proved itself true to me this semester when I had to interview an older family member about first memories of the television for my history of U.S. broadcasting class. Since I'm not related to a history-loving D.A.R. member like Rory - d-a-r-n!
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