Are we gonna be eating like this every night?
- Like what? - Like fish.
Yes. Did you like it?
It was very delicious, in a way.
Thank you, but in a way, there is no very delicious.
It's not more delicious or less delicious,
it's either delicious or it isn't.
- It was definitely delicious. - Did you two like it?
- Loved it. - Loved it.
- Now can we get a burger and fries? - We're starving.
[LUCY & MARY SIGH]
[HAPPY BARKS]
ANNIE: Well, at least Sam and David enjoyed their dinner. Heh-heh.
- Did you get enough to eat? - Oh, yeah, I had plenty.
- Good. - I ate before I came over.
- Right. - What a wonderful meal.
It's a wonderful meal. It was maybe the best meal I've ever had in my life.
You said that last night and the night before.
No, really. I mean, the fish was just the right texture.
It was flaky, moist, succulent.
I feel as if I've dined in a deep blue sea surrounded by love.
Oh. Heh.
Oh! Mm. Mm. Mm-mm.
[MOUTHING] I know.
[ANNIE CHUCKLING]
- Life is beautiful. - Oh, it is.
It is, it is.
- Too beautiful? - Just a smidge.
- Hungry? - Burrito supreme and a churro?
[MATT LAUGHS]
Okay, okay. Come here, baby. We'll get you some milk.
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Don't be long.
ERIC [SINGING]: I've got a home in glory land
That outshines the sun
I've got a home in glory land That outshines the sun
Ugh!
I've got a home in glory land That outshines the sun
Way beyond the blue Whoa!
Do Lord, oh, do Lord Oh, do remember me
[HAPPY WHINES]
Do Lord, oh, do Lord Oh, do remember me
Way beyond the blue
Ugh!
I took Jesus as my saviour You can take him too
Oh, I took Jesus as my saviour You can take him too
I took Jesus as my saviour You can take him too
Way beyond the blue
I got a home in a great new land That outshines the sun
He's singing again. He never used to sing.
- Oh, sure he did. - Not like that.
Well, it's okay, you know.
Dad's just really happy, so he's sharing his happiness.
Nighttime, daytime, all the time.
But, anyway, let's just get under the covers
and see if we can't sleep another minute or two.
[RUTHIE SIGHS]
Come. Blankie, yes, and tuck them in, yes. Mwah! Okay.
ERIC [SINGING]: Oh, do Lord, oh, do Lord,
Oh, do remember me
Way beyond the blue
Do Lord, oh, do Lord Oh, do remember me, wah, wah, wah
Do Lord, oh, do Lord Oh, do remember me
Way beyond the blue
I took Jesus as my saviour You can take him too
[PHONE RINGING]
Hello? There's no one there.
When I find out who keeps calling here every morning--
Don't look at me. I don't know who it is.
What happened to the alarm? I gotta get to work.
Man, when you get home, we gotta clean this place up.
Who could you possibly be calling at this hour?
Well, I was calling Matt, but he's not home.
- He has a job, remember? - Oh, yes, I remember.
I just wanna make sure he keeps it. Ha, ha.
Well, all right, that was a wake-up call. I-- I call every morning, just in case.
You're supposed to stay off the phone. No calls equals no stress, remember?
I'm not stressed. Life gave me a second chance.
I'm gonna give life a second chance. Wanna dance?
Yeah, yeah.
[ANNIE CHUCKLING]
[ERIC HUMMING]
I can't take all this happiness.
I want Dad to go back to normal so I can get some sleep.
Eventually, things will go back to normal, but until then,
I'm the man of the house. Now, did you do your homework?
I just wanna check before you go to school.
You know, like Dad would if he weren't supposed to be resting.
I'm not showing you my homework. I don't have to. I know if I did it or not.
- Did you? - I still have time.
But I'm still gonna want to see it.
It's something for you to read when you get a moment.
ANNIE: Oh, yes, when I get a moment, I will.
Okay, well, I'll finish up here. You should be meditating.
I'll meditate later, when the house is quiet.
No, no. The trick is to meditate when the house is noisy.
And that's the challenge.
After all, how often is the house gonna be quiet?
And if noise is your excuse, then you're never gonna do it, right?
You know, I think that is right.
Thanks, son.
ANNIE: Yeah.
Did you get your math quiz signed?
No, but I'm on my way to ask Dad right now.
Wait a minute. We're not supposed to upset him.
Why don't you just ask Mom?
Because right now he is un-upsetable.
But still, should you take advantage of his...? His...?
His post-heart-attack insanity?
- If you want to call it that. - Mom said it won't last.
So we might as well enjoy it while it's here. Wanna come?
Why not? Even in his insanity, he's still Dad,
and you're still you, so this should be fun.
Nice to see you...two?
Would you care to join me?
Uh, no, we have to get off to school,
and that's why I need you to sign this.
- What happened? - I don't know.
I did the homework the night before, but I had a hard time with it,
and then the teacher didn't go over it
before she busted us with this pop quiz.
You've always done well in school, haven't you, Mary?
For the most part, yeah.
And is math important to you?
No, not really.
I mean, there's just something about this trigonometry that I don't get.
Like, where am I ever gonna use it in real life?
Do you think you might have to think for yourself in real life?
I mean, you think you might ever have to solve a problem
that's more difficult than a trigonometry problem
that has an exact answer?
Uh, I don't know. Heh.
Mary, please.
Life is deeper, more meaningful, more complex than you can imagine.
And if I let you off with just signing this test
and not telling you how important you are to me,
and how important it is for you to have good grades,
and more than that, uh, to have a good mind,
then I would be missing out on some parental bliss.
[CHUCKLES]
- Did you do your homework? - Mind your own business.
It is my business.
Hey.
Okay, well, I'm gonna go round up the other kids as soon as I shave.
Shave?
Yeah, shave.
Ahem. When did you start shaving?
When Dad came home from the hospital.
Oh, I see.
What's Mary doing?
Oh, Dad cornered her. He's helping her with her math homework.
He doesn't need to be doing homework,
he's supposed to be meditating.
It's important for him to relax.
I'm fine.
I just came up with a great idea.
It's kind of something that just came to me
when I was correcting Mary's homework.
It's about
connection.
As in the opposite of
alienation.
Hmm? And I'm telling you, that brief moment when Mary
reached out to me, sparked something.
Yeah.
I think it would be a wonderful thing
if each of the kids would go to school today
and enlist the assistance of someone
whom they've previously alienated.
It'll be a wonderful experience for you. I know it will.
[MARY SIGHS]
Will you do it? For me?
Okay. Heh.
Sure.
Will you ask Simon and Ruthie to do it too?
Yeah.
I got a 15-minute break. Can I take a shower?
- Um, him too? - Yes, Matt too. Great.
[DOOR OPENS]
Hey, watch it.
What are you doing?
- What does it look like I'm doing? - It looks like you're shaving.
[MATT LAUGHS]
- So? - So nothing.
MATT: Whoo-hoo-hoo!
No crying.
You're the man of the house.
[CHATTERING]
What are you doing?
I'm trying to connect with some alienated people but I can't find any.
How about the junior class Three Stooges?
Susan Gertz, Lisa Lunby, Carole Overhill?
They're weird. Too weird.
And I don't want to go that far with Dad's wacky idea.
Good. So here's how you can help me.
What? I leave you out of my life all the time.
Alienation.
So now I'm gonna let you do something for me.
- Connection. - Ugh.
So the coach is gonna be a half-hour late to practice.
After school, meet me in the gym and try to keep the ball away from me.
- Why me? - You're shorter than a real player,
and so it's more of a challenge.
And besides, I'm looking to get the Dad assignment over with too.
I see. Yet I haven't felt the alienation, therefore, I don't want the connection.
You know what your problem is?
You don't have basketball, you don't have anything.
So next year, you're gonna be a senior,
and trying to figure out what college you're going to,
and how you're gonna pay for it, and I hope that nobody helps you
with whatever it is you finally decide that you wanna do.
Okay. If it means that much to you.
Forget it. You're better off spending your time deciding
what you wanna do in life.
[CHATTERING]
Hey, did you make it to work on time?
Barely. I ran to my house on my break and cleaned up.
- Cool. How's your dad? - Oh, he's fine.
He's high on life, way high. This morning he suggested
to each of us that we find someone we had alienated before,
and find some way to reconnect by asking them for help.
Like asking for help is gonna lure them into some kind of friendship.
No, no, that's an interesting notion.
But isn't it once you ask for help, then the two get involved
in something together, thereby creating a friendship of sorts?
- Are you high too? - No, really.
I think he's onto something. I was looking to make up with Shana
because I know she wasn't so happy about us moving in together.
She's feeling kind of left out with you having this new life.
- Shana's fine, she's over it. - I don't know about that.
Well, here she comes. You're welcome to try it.
- I gotta get to class. - All right.
- Hey. - Hi.
- Mwah. I have to run. - Oh, well, run. Have a good day.
I'll talk to you later.
When you have time for me between your job and your new apartment.
I was wondering if you could help me with something.
- Yeah, probably. - Well, I'm new here,
and I'm still kind of lost.
Think you have some time to take a walk, show me around?
Uh...
Yeah, I guess. I'll take a walk with you.
Cool. All right.
I'm sorry. I couldn't see where I was going.
Um...
I'm doing a little research on hereditary diseases
and cholesterol and hearts and stuff,
because my dad just had a heart attack.
How far you plan on juggling this stuff?
I was just heading over to my locker.
I'll take them.
Well, thanks. That's really nice of you.
I'm usually up to carrying a load, but now I'm man of the house,
I got three sisters and 6-month-old twins to take care of,
so I gotta admit, I'm a little worn out.
Not that I'm not up to the job, it's just, uh...
- It's just new to me, that's all. - Your dad died?
No, no, he's fine.
He's just taking it easy for a few weeks and I'm filling in.
- So he's gonna be okay? - Oh, yeah, yeah. He should be fine.
It was just a mild heart attack.
So he just needs to change his diet and exercise. Stuff like that.
That's all? What are you, a wimp?
Stop complaining and buck up, kid.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
No!
Oh, I'm sorry about the bell. I forgot.
Is the reverend up to visitors today?
Oh, he's fine. But he's not entertaining quite yet.
Oh, is there anything I can do for the reverend?
You know, everyone at church keeps calling and asking
what can they do for him, and I don't know what to tell them.
There's nothing to do for him, really.
Just give him a little time to rest. Uh-huh.
Oh, so he's still feeling poorly, is he?
[WHIMPERS]
No, he's feeling fine, really.
Thank you. Thank you for stopping by.
- Okay. - Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
[SIGHS]
- What are you doing? - I'm sitting.
Now I'm standing.
Now I'm sitting again.
Isn't it just amazing how,
when you want to stand up, you just automatically stand up,
and when you want to sit down, you just sit down.
When you think about it, it's miraculous.
I mean, you have this huge head,
yet when it goes up, the body goes up.
it goes down, body goes down.
Yes, the human body is miraculous.
ANNIE: So is anybody up there?
Watch, watch.
You know,
electricity is an amazing technology.
Yes, it's amazing.
[DOOR OPENS]
Hey. Do you need some help with your math homework?
- No, I'll help her. - But--
[MUSIC PLAYS ON STEREO]
- You were supposed to take a bath. - I did.
If you did, you didn't use a towel to dry off.
You're starting to get on my nerves.
I'm just doing my job. Now go.
Wait.
Which is it, go or wait?
Did you attempt to make friends with any alienated kids today?
I tried but Ricky said his parents are citizens.
I was looking for you. I wanna ask you something.
- Really? - Yeah, really.
Well, fire away, Lucy.
Do you have any idea what I should be when I grow up?
Um, well, in the past, what has made you feel the most
confident and happy with who you are?
- Boys. - Big help. I could have told me that.
Hey, I think you got a 5:00 shadow, pal.
[LAUGHING]
RUTHIE: Do you ever knock?
Sorry.
What are we doing?
- Simon told me to take a bath. - So take a bath.
- But I'm not dirty. - Then don't take a bath.
- Thank you. - Sure.
[MATT CHUCKLES]
Can I ask you something?
Sure.
Matt said I don't have to take a bath. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Well, you're good at stuff that Mom's good at.
You have mechanical skills and you like to fix cars and stuff and--
Did you tell Ruthie she doesn't have to take a bath?
- Yeah, what do you care? - I care, okay?
And what's Lucy talking to you about?
I was talking to Matt about my future, if you don't mind.
I do mind.
Oh, well, that's too bad, because Matt might actually be helpful.
- What was that about? - I don't know.
- So you were saying? - Oh, I was saying,
you should go to technical school, be a mechanic.
- A mechanic? - Yeah.
I don't want to be a mechanic. I wanna do something important.
You ever have the brakes on a car go out on you?
A lot of guys at technical school.
Why does everyone think that the only thing I'm interested in is guys?
To the exponent of negative 40.
I know it.
You've said that three times and it doesn't make any sense,
so stop saying it. This isn't helping me.
You know, it's been a long time since I've done math.
Just be a little patient.
- I need Dad. - I know, we all need Dad.
But what Dad needs to do now is just take it easy for a week or two,
so that's what Dad's gonna do.
And what we're gonna do is try to figure out this math problem.
Good night. Heh.
Well, it may be a good night for him.
You know, your attitude is not helping at all.
I'll be right back.
Hey. How was your day?
Oh, my day was busy.
Did you get a chance to experiment with my friendship theory?
The theory to end alienation and connect all human beings
- through helping one another? - That's the one.
No, but I passed it on to John, and John's trying it out.
That's good. That's very good.
All right. Good night.
Good night. Hey, I love you son.
I love you too.
[SINGING] Do Lord, oh, do Lord
Oh, do remember me Wah, wah, wah
Do Lord, oh, do Lord Oh, do remember me
[BABY WHIMPERS]
Dad's lying on the picnic table, singing in the dark, singing loud.
Loudly.
[PHONE RINGS]
Hello? Oh. Oh, yes. Mrs. Clark? Oh, he's fine.
No, he's not fine. He's way too happy and way too loud.
Are we done?
If you're finished helping Mary, maybe you could take two minutes
to discuss what I should be doing with my life.
Leave Mom alone. I'm the man of the house.
No, really, everything's just fine.
[CHUCKLES]
[SINGING] Do Lord, oh, do Lord
Oh, do remember me
Way beyond the blue
SHANA: Awesome.
- What's this? - This is what your apartment looks like
when it's clean. Like it?
Man, Shana is like the white tornado.
John asked me to show him around campus.
JOHN: I bought her dinner at the student lounge.
I offered to pay him back by helping him clean up.
Hey, you don't have to explain anything. This is great, thanks.
- I have to go. I have a late shift. - I agreed to give her a ride.
I have to go by the record store and pick up my pay cheque.
John is really nice.
[CRYING]
Well, I can't help it if you're no good in math.
I can't help it either.
And I am good at math.
I'm good with accounting. I just--
I can't do trigonometry.
Well, what am I supposed to do?
I don't know.
Maybe we could get you a tutor.
We can't afford a tutor.
I know.
Well, there's an after-school programme.
There's free help after school.
I have basketball after school.
But basketball's not more important than math.
Yeah, it is. I hate math.
I do too.
- Let's go to bed. - Okay.
Come on.
[SNIFFLING]
Hey, you crying?
Yes, I'm crying.
I'm just so happy you're alive.
So am I.
This is a nut house.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
I just dropped my little one off at school,
and I was wondering is there anything I can do for your husband?
You know, I heard that there was some sort of disturbance last night.
- Who said there was a disturbance? - Oh, it was Mrs. Norwood.
But by 9:00, you know, she gets a little tipsy.
You know, Mrs. Beeker, I don't gossip and I don't like gossip.
Well, please tell the reverend
I said I'm praying for a speedy recovery. Goodbye.
[GROWLS]
Wait. I'm sorry.
Are you okay?
If I weren't, would you tell the whole neighbourhood?
You know, Annie, sometimes people gossip
because they're trying to make a friend.
And I'm afraid I am entirely guilty
of often going about making friends in the wrong way.
I know I put you off,
and obviously you have a husband and children,
and, well, you don't need a nosy neighbour lady
to share your weary load. Do you?
It's just that I don't have that much time to talk.
Well, of course not.
There's probably laundry and ironing and cooking
and all of my favourite things to do.
Come in.
[ERIC WHISTLING]
BEEKER: Oh.
- Hello, Mrs. Beeker. - Well--
Honey, I want to get outside and see how the spider's doing with her web.
You know, the way the light plays on it?
It's like a work of art. It's just magnificent.
There's a spider web under the picnic table.
The picnic table he was lying on last night
when he woke up the neighbourhood, singing.
Oh, yes, but we don't want to talk about that.
Now, you put me to work, sister. I am at your service.
[ANNIE CHUCKLES]
We need more people.
And it'd be great to get someone off the B list.
- The B list? - Well, you're not the A list.
No, B list is fine. I had no idea I was considered a B list.
If you're doing it to meet guys, forget it. Most of them are older and married.
I'm not doing it to meet guys. I swear.
- Then why are you doing it? - I don't know exactly.
It doesn't matter. Like they say, "Just do it."
[BELL RINGS]
Oh, I'm sorry. We'll see you after school.
- Want some advice? - Sure.
You were very close to the A list when you went out with Jordan last year,
I'd hate to see you blow it.
Hi, I'm Lucy.
I'm Jan.
I take it you're on the A list?
I appreciate the advice.
I appreciate it in that I appreciate your talking to me,
my being on the B list and all.
But those women are doing something so cool,
I'm going to have to take a chance on blowing it.
Besides, the B list is more than I've ever aspired to.
So see you.
[VOICE MAIL] Hi, this is Shana.
How about leaving me a message?
It's me again. I'm just getting worried because I haven't heard from you.
Let me know if you need a ride to work tonight. Hope nothing's wrong.
[LAUGHING]
Hi.
John lent me his car to do some errands,
so I picked him up after class.
Fine.
- Is something wrong? - No. No, nothing's wrong,
I'm glad the two of you have so much time for each other.
I'll just get ready for work.
Yeah.
I thought you'd be happy John and I are getting along.
I had felt kind of left out.
Well, guess who's feeling left out now?
Hey, how's that man-of-the-house job coming along?
Uh, you got a little something.
Oh. No one ever tells you these things.
Don't worry about it. Men do that all the time.
- Really? - Oh, yeah.
Happened to me when I first started shaving.
To tell you the truth, I'm not so good at being the man of the house.
I mean, no one really pays any attention.
It hurts your feelings, doesn't it?
- Well, it's not that. - Makes you wanna cry?
No, it doesn't make me wanna cry.
When my Dad died, you know, I didn't think I could cry.
I mean, boys don't cry, right?
Then one night I started, I just couldn't stop.
My Mom freaked and made me take up football
so I wouldn't become a sissy.
Eh. I used to come home from practice crying.
So then she got me into this boys' group
where I had like some fake dad coming around, trying to influence me.
Still couldn't quit crying.
- What happened then? - Then we both went to see your dad.
We could have gone to our own minister, but my mom was afraid
someone would see us and think I was giving her a hard time.
Your dad told me that I can cry and be a man.
I can get my feelings hurt and be a man,
because, uh, men do have feelings.
He told my mom she didn't have to get me a male influence in my life
because she was doing such a great job.
Eh, then I didn't feel so much like crying all the time, you know.
Just once in a while.
And I let that fake dad guy stick around.
As it turns out, I love football.
Oh, and tell your dad hello for me
and get him to teach you how to shave.
Oh, thanks.
- Hey. - Come on, Weepy, we got practice.
Oh. Weepy's my nickname. What do I care?
- Where's Mom? - Mom's busy and Mary's got practice.
Where's Lucy?
I dropped off Mom's tool box to her,
and she's off on some big secret adventure.
And what is the big secret adventure?
- Probably something to do with boys. - Probably.
You should have found out.
Why, little man? What difference does it make?
Okay, that's it. Get out of the car.
Oh, boy. Brother against brother. Not since the Civil War.
Well, you heard me, get out.
Heh-heh. Why? You planning on beating me up?
No, I plan on telling you off.
Now get out and take it like a man.
If there's gonna be a fight, I'd like to jump in like a woman.
Specifically, Xena.
Would you stay in the car?
- What's this all about? - You know exactly what this is about.
You moved out and left me to take care of Mom and Dad and the kids.
I didn't leave you to take care of anyone.
Yeah, well, nevertheless, I'm taking care of everyone,
- and you're undermining my authority. - How?
By telling Ruthie that she doesn't have to take a bath.
And by doing all kinds of stuff.
- What kinds of stuff? - Just stuff, okay?
- Well, don't get so upset. - It's too late because I am upset.
You know the thing I'm most upset about?
Is the fact that you find all this so funny,
like I'm some kind of an idiot or something.
When did I ever act like you were an idiot?
When I was shaving.
I mean, it hurt my feelings.
I mean, did people laugh at you when you started shaving?
- I'm sorry. - It's okay, I just wanted you to know.
No, I feel terrible.
Really, it's fine.
- I'm sorry. - Me too.
It's just been a tough couple of weeks, you know?
God save my soul.
When are things going back to normal?
[MARY & BEEKER LAUGHING]
BEEKER: You see?
- I feel like such a dope. - Oh. Oh, you shouldn't.
It's just that nobody's explained trigonometry to you
in a way that makes sense.
Oh, no offence to the reverend or your mom.
But trigonometry can be fun.
I don't know about fun, but at least I'm starting to get it.
Good. Good.
- Oh. - What's going on?
Mrs. Beeker's helping me with my math.
I left you a plate in the microwave. Dessert's in the fridge.
Yeah, lemon meringue.
I'm gonna check on the twins and then I better be taking off.
So, what did you do with your new weird friends that involved dirt?
Nothing much. I just decided what I'm gonna do
with the rest of my life, that's all.
- Well? - I joined Habitat for Humanity.
Mom let me borrow her tools and this guy showed me
how to put shingles on a roof, and I roofed.
Oh, so there is a guy involved.
He's 70, a master carpenter.
And he helped me and my new friends roof an entire house.
A house people are gonna live in. People who've never had a house.
You're gonna work for Habitat for Humanity
- for the rest of your life? - I hope so.
I want to design and build low-income housing
and volunteer whatever time I have while I'm learning to do that.
This is unbelievable. I am really, really proud of you.
Thanks, but I owe it all to you.
If you hadn't given me the push, I wouldn't have done it.
Oh, I just love this family.
[BOTH LAUGH]
You know she's gonna tell the entire neighbourhood that you're bad at math.
Oh, yeah. I don't care though.
I'd rather the whole world know than do homework with Mom again.
[LUCY LAUGHS]
[KNOCKING]
Get out.
I'm not here to bug you about your homework.
I'm sure you're doing your homework
even though that's a Hello Kitty colouring book you have there.
I just wanted to know if you've had an opportunity
to make any new friends at school yet?
Yes, I made a new friend, so get off my back.
Well, who is it?
My teacher. I asked her to help me with homework,
and she practically did it for me.
That's why I have time to colour.
What? I did a good thing. All the kids hate her and now I don't.
I think she's great. And if she keeps helping me like she did today,
I could become an artist.
- Wonderful. - Wanna colour?
I don't think so.
Too girly for you?
Yeah.
Yet he doesn't mind crying like a baby. Go figure.
- Oh. - Sorry. I was on my way out.
Hey, do you have a date?
No, just meeting a friend. Late-night coffee, that kind of thing.
What kind of thing?
- It's not Shana, okay? - Whatever.
- Yeah, whatever. - I can't help it.
I don't see her enough, and I resent you spending time together.
Why do you two have to be friends anyway?
Okay, for one, you encouraged me to make friends with Shana.
No. What I said was, Dad had a nutty idea.
You didn't have to jump on it.
Two, why are you wasting time worrying about me talking to Shana
when there are plenty of guys who aren't your best friend
talking to her day and night, at work, at school, at her apartment?
Think about it. I'm not your competition.
And three, you have nothing to worry about.
The girl loves you, man.
- I don't know. - No, she does.
That's why she traded hours with some guy so she could get off early.
- Good night, John. - Good night, Shana.
[SIGHS]
I never meant to make you jealous.
- Who, me? Jealous? - Uh, yeah.
Well, okay, but don't do it anymore.
So tell me.
It's just hard to describe. I don't know.
A tunnel with a white light at the end of it?
No. No, actually, it was something
I've never heard anyone else talk about.
Okay. It's not gonna make any sense.
That's okay.
I saw
a series of pictures of myself.
Was it like your life passing before you?
Yeah. But the good pictures moved on,
and the bad pictures turned to dust.
Oh.
And then I saw pictures of my father.
But things I could never have seen in my life.
The Colonel in combat.
The Colonel saving a man's life.
The Colonel putting a bicycle together for me under the Christmas tree.
The Colonel going into the hospital room
to see my mom when I was born.
I know it sounds crazy. The crazy part was it went on.
I saw pictures of my grandfather and my great-grandfather
and my great-great grandfather and on back into time.
Men doing good.
Men being kind.
Men working hard helping others.
Men struggling through their tears.
Men laughing and celebrating being men.
And even though they weren't men that I knew,
I knew that they were my family, connected through the generations,
not by our sins or our mistakes,
but through our strengths.
And I felt myself filling up with all this goodness.
And suddenly I woke up feeling stronger than ever,
better than ever, more confident and secure than ever.
Because we are all the good things
that all those who have gone before us are,
and all the bad things fall away.
That's so beautiful.
- Any more? - I was left with this feeling,
maybe because of the generational connection,
this feeling that there is...
There's no greater reward than being a good parent.
I mean, if nothing else,
I've done my best to be a good father. That's a spectacular feeling.
It's a well-deserved feeling.
Soap.
And it floats. I mean, who thought of that?
I'm sure I don't know.
I have always wanted to work with Habitat for Humanity.
- They do such great work. - I was hoping you could teach me
some practical skills so I can contribute more.
Well, I'd be happy to teach my daughters anything I know.
Which doesn't include trigonometry.
No, no trigonometry.
- Have you got your homework done? - I finished it at school.
Good for you.
But don't ask your teacher to do it for you again, okay?
Well, things are practically back to normal.
What do you mean by "practically"?
You missed a little something under your lip.
- Very funny. - That was funny.
Simon's a funny guy. And a smart guy.
And an excellent crier.
- You've been crying? - Well, we both have.
It wasn't a big deal. Matt hurt my feelings.
You know, we cried, we laughed, we made up.
Good for you guys.