Back on February 28, 1983, I laid on the floor of my living room watching the final episode of the TV series
M*A*S*H about the life and relationships of a group in a mobile army hospital during the Korean war. I remember crying uncontrollably as I watched everyone going their separate ways and saying their goodbyes. After watching the show regularly every week for years on end, all of the characters had become quite real to me. I no longer saw a group of actors standing on a set saying their scripted lines. What I saw was a group of people whose lives I had come to know intimately. I felt their emotions and their pain. I also was sad because it was the end of a regular and comforting routine that I used to share every week with my family.
Recently, I experienced a very similar set of goodbyes that hit me equally as hard. For five years my daughter and I have regularly watched the Nickelodean series
iCarly. A show about a group of teenagers that host their own web show. The characters worked well together and they became part of me and my life over the last few years. As they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, it tore at my heart. It also hit me that my daughter and I will no longer have new episodes to look forward to and we will not have this regular and comforting routine to share together. Goodbye, farewell and amen.
