The Office Finale

(There are not going to be any spoilers in this post). 

(Via)

The Office, after 9 seasons, went off the air last night and I thought that it was the perfect ending. It was funny but still let everyone have a relatively happy ending. 

I tend to get attached to my TV shows. I am a very loyal follower and get invested in the characters of the show.  So, the finale last night is the ONLY show that I have watched in real-time in about the last 3 years. I always just wait until the next day to watch the show. I couldn't do that last night. I HAD to know how everyone left the show and went on with their lives. 

The Office has very special meaning to me. In another life I was engaged to another man and didn't watch The Office because I thought it was stupid. After being engaged for about 9 months and planning out a whole, I woke up one day and realized that I loved another man; JJ. So, after trying to work through it and fighting my feelings for JJ, I called off my wedding. It was not an easy decision for me. I still loved my Fiancé but realized that it was not a good sign when I loved another man. I had started to think of my future marriage to Fiancé and divorce was not an “if” but a “when”.

Needless to say, it was hard to call off an engagement. I was very sad but immediately let JJ know that I had called off the engagement but needed some time. That night, as I lay crying in my room but knowing that I had made the right decision, I received a text message. JJ had driven all the way across town and left the first 3 season of The Office in my mailbox because he thought that I needed to watch something funny and take my mind off the broken engagement.

Via

So, I sat in my room for 3 days straight and did nothing but watch all 3 seasons of The Office. I don’t even think that I ate. I laughed and cried and was amazed how funny it was (even the weird first season).  I watched those 3 seasons non-stop and never looked back.

This probably won’t come as a surprise but that character that I identified with the most was Pam. There were a lot of similarities to what was going on with Pam and in my life. I had been engaged to a man who I cared about but had another man in my life who I had feelings for. When Pam finally called off the engagement and eventually got together with Jim, I knew that I had made the right decision and cried happy tears for them and myself.  In a weird way, it also helped me know that JJ and I were going to work out and that it was ok to call off an engagement for another man. (I know that sounds crazy. A scripted TV show should not have that much impact on my life but it did).

Via

I love that the writers made Pam and Jim work for their love and work at their love. That is real life and marriage. No marriage is perfect and I like that The Office acknowledged that even the fairytale marriages go through their hard times but do everything they can to work through the tough times. I feel like my generation has grown up watching too much TV and thinking that everything should come easy. We tend to feel that if we have to work for something, it is the wrong thing and not worth it. That is the complete opposite of how it is. If you have to work for something or work at something, you tend to appreciate it more and enjoy it more.

So, as I sat on the couch with JJ last night and watched everyone, Pam and Jim included, get their happy ending I shed a tear. I am sad that a show I have identified with so completely has ended.

Via

It was a great 9 years with the crew from Scranton. We are sad to see you go. Thank you for the laughter and the tears and making it ok to be a complete weirdo. 

Have a great Friday!

KK