THIS IS US: Introducing Our RESOLVE Group "Cast of Characters"

If you are like many Americans, you have fallen in love with the TV series, This is Us. I, for one, am obsessed with the show. In case you aren’t familiar with it, let me give you a little background information.

Jack and Rebecca Pearson, an adorable married couple in the 1980’s, are expecting triplets. As Season One unfolds, you find Jack and Rebecca preparing to welcome three babies into their lives: three cribs, three basinets, three high chairs, etc. However, on the day of Rebecca's delivery, one of the triplets unfortunately dies. Rebecca is devastated and Jack, ever-the fixer, is desperate to help his wife cope with their devastating loss.

As fate has it, we find Jack contemplative and admiring his two surviving babies through the nursery window in the hospital, at the same time a fireman is gazing at a newborn black baby boy in the basinet beside Jack’s infants.  Soon, Jack discovers that the little baby boy was abandoned at the community fire station, and the fireman had just delivered the deserted boy to the hospital. Ultimately Jack and Rebecca come to the realization that they should adopt the abandoned baby, since they were prepared to have three children. The viewers fall even more deeply in love with the couple when they succumb to the notion that the universe was telling them that they were destined to love and raise the three babies as siblings.

Classic photo of the Pearson triplets in This Is Us.

This Is Us follows events in the lives of the Pearson family. Kate, the character played by Chrissy Metz, is dealing with the physical and emotional pain that comes with obesity, while Kevin (Justin Hartley) is struggling to be taken seriously in a world where he’s only been judged on his looks. Sterling K. Brown’s character, the adopted brother Randall, is battling his own issues while connecting with his biological father, who is battling terminal cancer.

Images of the characters in the TV Series This Is Us.

The appeal of This Is Us is layered and multifaceted. The viewer has nostalgic flashbacks coupled with flawed characters. You have glimpses into your own family drama and the realization that no family is perfect. There is laughter, there are tears, and as soon as an episode ends, you can’t help but want more.

When I watch This is Us, I am reminded of lives of the men and women in my RESOLVE Support Group.  None of us have perfect lives, but we share laughter and tears. We are an amazing group of people who are struggling to build our families and resolve our infertility. We have suffered recurrent miscarriages, failed IUI’s, multiple surgeries, and childless living not by choice to name just a few of our obstacles.  We come together once a month and share our ups and downs with each other. Sometimes we have flashbacks to our childhoods and/or how we met our life partners. Other times we project to the future and dream of what our lives would be like with the number of children we ideally want to have, leaving the painful world of infertility behind.  Paralleling the series, by the conclusion of our meetings, we find ourselves learning more about ourselves and each other and looking forward to the next “epsisode” when we meet again.

Next week is National Infertility Awareness Week. As a tribute to those in my support group, I would like to post a series of stories that I am titling This is Us: Introducing Our RESOLVE Group "Cast of Characters."

At times you may be touched by our challenges… possibly even moved to tears. Other times you will be awestruck by our tenacity, strength and determination. It is my hope that the stories I share about these amazing people… complete with our fine points and flaws, our victories and defeats… will resonate with you.  May you see your own emotions reflected back at you… just as one does in the TV series.

After all… This IS US!

In-Fertility & Friendship,

Sue

P.S. Please remember to “tune in” every day next week for the series. You surely will not want to miss our inspirational stories!