i’m not sure how i’m so caught off guard every tuesday around 10 p.m. when tears start steadily streaming down my face. like i’m all of a sudden surprised that this show, this beloved show about family and life and where the two intersect, is the direct cause of my eye-watering.

because if i’ve realized anything in the four seasons i’ve tuned in to see the adventures of the braverman clan play out on the small screen, it’s that the storylines get me. they get me every time.

and maybe that’s because they simply depict real life. the hard times, the triumphant ones, too, and the nuances in between.

but i also think this show has captured my heart by the way that it depicts the bonds within the family members themselves. the braverman bond may be fictional, sure, but i think it exists outside the confines of nbc. i like to think it exists amongst the family i’ve blessed to call my own. and i can only pray that this bond grows as my family gains girth in the years to come.

while last night’s episode on the whole was heart-wrenching and worthy of tears, it was the following scene in particular that was the culprit for the late night cry-fest.

i mean, true, the slow-motion montage of brothers and brothers-in-laws, sisters and cousins all high-fiving each other as little victor rounded the bases while the lumineers’ “stubborn love” played softly in the background wasn’t helpful in holding back the floodgates (also, why is that song so good?), but i think what truly did me in at this moment was to see such pure unadulterated joy amongst the family unit -each and every one of them -when one of their own experienced his first big success.

sure, family is there to share in your pain; to empathize and offer love, advice, and a big old bear hug in your darkest hours. 

but maybe more importantly, family is there to share in your joys; your milestones, your fist-pump moments. they are your biggest cheerleaders, they are your team. when you win, they all do.

and while i may not be a braverman (though i wish more than anything i could be sometimes), i’m pretty gosh darn lucky to be on a team whose bond comes pretty darn close.