Inspired by the award-winning series of the same name, “The Wonder Years” reboot is a Black coming-of-age comedy that tells the story of the Williams family during the late 1960s, spotlighting the ups and downs of growing up in a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, and the friendship, laughter, and lessons along the way. And it’s f*cking hilarious!
I’m pretty sure my daughter is tired of me watching this thang. ‘Cause I literally scream out loud dying of laughter at least once every episode! She’s sick of me. And I don’t even care! It’s TOO damn good!
But not only is “The Wonder Years” reboot a hilarious sitcom, that continues to bring me joy with every episode. It’s also a great reminder that Black folks CAN (and should) apologize. I know the idea sounds crazy, if you’re like me, and grew up with parents who constantly said, “Because I said so”.
But the older I get the more I realize how important it is to effectively communicate with others. Especially your loved ones. And that sometimes can mean, apologizing when you’re wrong. And sometimes even when you’re not.
Listen, don’t go rollin’ yo eyes now! If you’re looking to cultivate (and keep) real, deep, and meaningful relationships — you’re going to have to apologize! A lot. There’s just no way around it.
Sometimes we say the wrong things, do the wrong things and even interpret a text message in the wrong tone. Which can then lead to people getting hurt. An apology can go A LONG way. Especially a heartfelt, genuine one.
But unfortunately, apologizing (or meaningful, relationships for that matter) wasn’t something I just grew up observing. So I didn’t have a lot of examples to go off of. It wasn’t until I was way beyond what I consider the “proper age” of learning positive life skills, aka in my late 20s, that I began to realize I finally had relationships that were worth holding on to. Which meant I had to learn these skills quickly or risk losing out on relationships that I so desperately needed. And boy was that a f*cking learning curve! But well worth it!
And it wasn’t until today, while I was cackling at another episode of “The Wonder Years”, which is now streaming on Hulu, that I realized how refreshing it is to see people like me, right in front of me, apologize to their loved ones when they’re wrong.
It’s something I didn’t even realize I needed to see growing up, until today.
This soft skill, yup, it’s a skill you’ll need at work as well, just don’t over-apologize and abuse it, is embedded throughout each episode of this comforting, Black series. It’s a shame it got canceled after only two seasons. We need more fun shows that remind us of who we are, and who we can become, and “The Wonder Years” did that wonderfully for two straight seasons.
If you haven’t watched it yet, hop skip to it. Before someone decides to take it down altogether.