I have never been one for tradition. I kinda feel like I get why people have them, but tradition has never been a happy thing for me. Tradition brings forth memories – ones that are sometimes painful and sometimes very easy.
But when we have changes in our lives, the traditions that were built in the years prior become more important to who we are. We may not want to keep these traditions up, but we start to respect them more when the people that introduced them to our lives are gone.
And when the person that was the keeper of those traditions is gone, how do you remember all of the things that took for granted?
In this weeks Council of Dad it focused on traditions and the first holidays without Scott. For Rebecca how does she move forward, how does she stay still, and how in the midst of it all do they form new traditions or keep things the same.
HALLOWEEN
Think costumes and candy. Lots of costumes and candy. The kids have made their peace with the fact – in a way – that their Dad isn’t there. But for Robin, she misses Scott.
And she realizes that it is the first holiday without him.
The kids are doing what they always do, trying to make it through their candy. Robin is talking with the council – trying to see what everyone has going on and what Ollie is going to make his marriage work.
Because Ollie and Peter are still having problems over the kiss. Ollie thinks he’s fighting for his marriage, but everyone can see he’s running from it. Anthony doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, and Larry – well Larry is just accepting the fact that he’s going to be alone forever.
But for Robin, it’s about making things as normal as possible.
That is until Theo comes home – brought home by the cops. She finds out that the hot guy she runs with – Sam – is a cop and brought Theo home after catching him and friends drinking in the cemetery.
Robin sends Theo to his room and like any parent wants to bring down the iron fist. He got caught drinking. He’s a teenager. Ya, he should just count on that phone going away.
Theo becomes very defensive. And you can’t blame him. You know that he’s going through a lot and he feels lost. Out of all the kids – Theo is taking it hardest. He misses his father, even when he’s not talking about how much he’s missing his Dad.
Robin is reacting from a place of anger and it makes me feel for her.
Cause she’s going to do one thing – push her son further away. Yes, he’s being an asshole and rebelling, but he doesn’t feel like he’s allowed to talk about his Dad. He doesn’t feel like he’s allowed to say what is wrong. He doesn’t feel like he has anyone to talk to.
Robin takes away his phone as punishment. She thinks that she is trying to reach him, but I have to say, she’s going to just push him further away.
THANKSGIVING
Robins Mom has arrived. I think it’s funny how Robin is reacting to her Mom, because she doesn’t want her kids to be this way with her. She doesn’t want to not be able to not relate to her.
But Robin’s Mom isn’t the easiest person. She’s old fashioned and doesn’t know how to shut up and not speak her mind. She wants to be there for her grandkids and her daughter, but her daughter is not having it.
And like most Moms, she’s not seeing that it’s not that she’s doing something wrong – it’s that there is a tone of judgement that comes with it. No one wants to be judged. They just want to be heard.
Robin – that’s all she hears from her Mom. Judgement. She doesn’t feel like she can do anything right. And when she uses the wrong pronoun with JJ, you can see that Robin has had enough.
Grandma is trying to catch up, cook, and be the gracious hostess. She finds out that Luly reached out to meet her adoptive parents, but they had declined to meet her. Luly has to leave with Evan to go to his families house.
JJ is upset that Luly isn’t going to be there. And then Robin gets Theo’s report card in the mail and she takes off to confront her son. Oliver sees that Eddie has texted Paul and flips his shit.
He finds out that Paul hadn’t told Eddie that Ollie knew about the kiss. Paul tries to tell his husband that it was just a kiss, but Ollie isn’t hearing it. He’s not hearing all of the things that he should. Ollie is so wrapped up in jealousy, he’s missing life and the love he has in front of him.
Robin tells her Mom that everything is going wrong and Scott was always the person to make everything right. Her Mom says that they just have to keep going.
CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas isn’t an easy time for anyone, but definitely not an easy time for a family that has lost someone.
Robin tells Sam about her Christmas Eve plans with the family and he tells her that she should meet him for a Christmas run. I want to like Sam, because like he seems like a good guy, but I feel like he is playing with her emotions and that is too much for her.
Christmas Dinner is at the Crab Shack and I am glad that they are sticking with this tradition. JJ heads into the kitchen to get a crab cracker (is that what they call it) and finds Anthony kissing Margot. He asks if they are in love.
The truth is Margot is in love with Anthony and she knows that he’s not ready to say the same words. But she says it and she lets her walls down.
Robin decides that Theo needs to be thrown a bone and gives him a camera – one that was his Dads – as an early gift. Theo seems pleased with it, but takes the opening for something for himself.
He doesn’t want to go to church. He wants to go home and think. He needs to be by himself.
And hey, I would see all the greatness in that, if that is what was what he was going to do. And part of me wants to believe that is what he was going to do, but who knows.
Robin and her Mom get into a fight. She’s so pissed that he daughter doesn’t give her a say in her grandchildren’s lives, but she is always told to be quiet. It hurts her – which you can see. You can see that she wants to be the person that protects her daughter and it kills her that she can’t be everything to her daughter.
I think sometimes as we grow, our parents feel a bit as though they have lost some of their purpose, because we don’t need them as much anymore. But the truth is we always need the love and attention that they want to give. We just have lost that little bit of hope that made it comfortable.
Robin decides to take the kids home and finds Theo with friends. She’s pissed, because again – he’s lied to her. But they explain to Robin that they have lost a parent and they needed someone who understood too.
I think for the first moment, Robin saw that her son was hurting and lost and though he felt he couldn’t talk to her, he could talk to his friends. She felt a little bit as though – well she could see that Theo was hurting.
CHRISTMAS DAY
The next day, Robin is trying to hold her shit together but she is breaking down. Scott knew what everything meant, every story, every tradition, but Robin didn’t. She didn’t know if she could do Christmas.
Especially when there was no eggs in the fridge. So her Mom said fine – lets get out of there. And effectively – Christmas was cancelled.
They all went to help Luly and Evan paint their house. It was the perfect distraction. The perfect way to get some air.
Robin thanks Margot for helping Anthony pick out her necklace, but she hadn’t. Margot looked disappointed that Robin got a necklace. But Margot should know that this family is close in ways that she can’t touch.
The day was good because it taught Robin what she wanted. She knew that she wasn’t ready for Sam, but was willing to slow things down. The both of them were finding their way.
But when you see them kiss – after agreeing to take things slow – you know that they are meant to be together for however long they are in each others lives.
NEW YEARS EVE
They say how you end the year is how you’ll spend the next year. And to be honest I am not sure that’s marking well for anyone in this show.
Anthony is basically dumped – because Margot takes back her I love you.
Sam tells Robin that his wife wants to try again. Robin would never want to stand in the way of family so she lets him go.
Ollie gets enraged when he gets a text from Eddie and goes to tell him off. It forces him to learn to figure out his marriage and what he wants. Ollie needs a push and a big ass push he got.
Luly gets a letter from the adoption agency that the family that had adopted her wants to meet her.
Robin and Patricia have a heart to heart and find a little bit of hope in eachother.
SCOTTS BIRTHDAY
Scott pulled a PS I LOVE YOU and left a gift for his family on his birthday. He wanted them to have a new tradition. But no one knew what was in there.
And in true Scott fashion it was something unique.
It was water guns.
So everyone heads outside for some fun and you see everyone having a grand time and for a second – you can finally breathe for this family. But even then, you know that’s short lived.
Because nothing ever goes perfectly for them.
As they are having a great time, but all of the sudden you see Charlotte fall to the ground. She’s passed out.
Something is happening to her and no one knows what it is.
But you know that this family will stop at nothing to save her.
