The Friends Reunion United My Family

I just don’t think Ross is funny,” I said with my whole chest.

My family was all in the kitchen discussing their favorite TV shows.

“I also don’t think Friends is funny,” I said jokingly in the kitchen with my family trying to raise some trouble. Now I knew that Ross was funny. I also know personally that Friends was a funny show. I just didn’t want to admit it. I knew that and my mom knew that.

I’m always the instigator in the family (second only to my brother Shiloh) so every now and then I like to stir the pot.

My mom stared at me. Wide-eyed and agape with my sudden statement, I could tell she was about to go off, until, she caught on to what I was doing. She smiled coyly and decided to play her own games as well. “Well, since you don’t find it funny, maybe we should re-watch it together to jog your memory.” I tried to protest, but it was too late.

We all have those shows we like to share with others so they can get hooked and join our obsession. At the beginning of quarantine, we went on a recommendation fiasco.

With six people in the house with different tastes, you can imagine the suggestions that flew around. I personally like animation, my sister, Sinead, likes fantasy, and my mom likes comedy,

My other sister Shasha doesn’t really like watching TV, the exact opposite of my mom who loves showing us old shows. When it comes time to get our hair re-tightened (those with sister locks know how long the process goes), she makes us binge the shows she liked to watch back in the day.

So, we watched a few of the funniest episodes of Friends and I haven’t laughed so hard since in forever. I laughed so hard at one point I bumped my head against the bed frame and didn’t even feel the pain.

Okay, that’s a lie, but you laugh through the pain yeah know.

My favorite character, ironically, is Ross, the second being Phoebe. Smelly cat anyone? It’s definitely for an adult audience as some jokes went over my head (Yes, even as an adult it can take some time to process jokes). And though I enjoyed the whole Rachel and Ross dynamic, Monica and Chandler’s relationship is underrated. And when I found out there was going to be a Friends Reunion, I was so excited. The gang’s all here!

Seeing behind the scenes of certain episodes, talking about the process of filming, and just seeing the chemistry between them all is going to be so much fun to watch.

As I laid down, holding my stomach, while laughing at Friends playing on the screen, I glanced at my mom and siblings. I smiled at the opportunity we got to have; spending time together while sharing our interests.