On May 16, one of my all-time favorite shows came to an end...The Office. I was introduced to this amazing show by my good friend, Liz. She assured me I'd love it and after a night of laughter watching her selected favorite episodes, I was hooked. The series began on March 24, 2005, just a week before I started a new job...the job at which I'm still employed....the job which often mirrors the show. When I heard the show was ending, I felt like I was about to lose a co-worker.
When this final season started, I wasn't sure the direction the show would take. I was a bit concerned when Jim and Pam hit the rocks and was feared their marriage was doomed. Say it isn't so! Then a few episodes before the end they had a moment of reconciliation while 1 Corinthians 13 was read (well, done, Office, well done), I knew all things would come to a good end.
I don't think I've ever seen a show have that classy of an ending since the MASH finale that still goes down in history as one of the most memorable series endings. When shows end, I'm either completely stoked that the pain is finally over because they had jumped the shark two seasons prior, or it ends so unexpectedly wrong that I'm left wanting more....or wanting something. There was absolutely no part of The Office series finale I didn't love....and the Michael Scott return was priceless. I could watch the episode a thousand times (much like I do many of the episodes in rerun) and always have that warm, fuzzy feeling. That's talent, folks. Not every show can pull that off.
To sum up this show would be difficult, but the best way I can do it is through three of my favorite quotes from the show...
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." - Andy
I could use this phrase in so many areas of my life. We live for the not yet instead of living for the now. What a complete waste. What if we lived every day with the perspective that these are the good old days? Wouldn't life be so much more enjoyable?
"There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that the point?" - Pam
Pam is so profound. The simple things are often times the most beautiful...and the most memorable. This show was not about anything significant. It was about a day in the life of a paper company. Yet, we all identified in some way and found richness through a silly television show. Sometimes the road trip to the destination is much more memorable than the destination. Ordinarily beautiful.
"I sold paper at this company for twelve years. My job was to speak to clients, on the phone, about quantities and types of copier paper. Even if I didn't love every minute of it, everything I have, I owe to this job. This stupid, wonderful, boring, amazing job." - Jim
This quote was by far the one that brought a tear to my eye. For the last 8 years, I'd watched this show and identified many times with the characters and the situations. All the while working a job that came with its ups and downs, but that I truly loved. Jim summed up my own feelings right now. On days when my job makes me want to pull my hair out, I remember that I owe a lot to the job...and can say that about many of the jobs of my past. They all shaped the employee I am today and have had a personal impact on my life.
It's been a great 8 years, Office. May you live on forever in reruns.
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