Sometimes you work your ass off and the breaks just don't fall your way, but you make the best with what you got and you keep it moving. Instead of being a sobering look at unemployment and (indirectly) life in the recession, it neutered Adam as a parent and made him out to be the father that lets his child believe in Santa until they hit double digits. There's nothing wrong with wanting to do everything for your child and to keep their dreams alive for just one more day, but in this case, by stringing Haddie along, Adam is just deluding her and setting her up for a bigger fall if/when they can't get the money to send her to Cornell.

Love is also in the air. Well, I shouldn't say love, as both fledgling relationships are in the very early stages of development at this point. It's a little odd to see Crosby with all the power in his interactions with Jasmine, as I got so used to seeing him turn into a desperate little puppy every time she showed her face, doing every trick in the book to make her stay and love him. Now that he's the one who ended things (and has a beautiful cellist that's good with Jabbar by his side), Jasmine's noticeably uncomfortable and it's a nice flip to the expected dynamic between the two; now that she's no longer the one with the shiny new relationship, she gets a little taste of how Crosby's felt for some time and it feels deserved, at least to gain some perspective. I only hope that Jasmine seeing how happy he is with Lilly doesn't lead to a(nother) reunion between the two, mostly due to how well most of their storylines have landed this season and how there's inherent tension with them simply interacting.

There's some inherent tension between Amber and Bob Little, too, but nothing happened. Yet. I must give Parenthood credit for not going to the "awkward drunk co-worker kiss" move (like I predicted in my episode notes), as they've already done something like it and it feels too soon for there to be something that eventful going on between Amber and Bob. I mean, I get why they've bonded, both being from working class backgrounds and having humor that gelled quickly, but Amber's only just now getting her life back on track following her time in Bad Girl Ville. It'd be a little disheartening to see her potentially lose focus over a man, especially since she's the character I most room for to put all the pieces together. I like Amber having a flirt-buddy and I like that somebody understands how bad ass that she is, but it's putting too much on the line for something that may not be more than a fling. A fun, exhilarating, forbidden fling with a cute boy that seems to "get" her, but a fling nonetheless.

As an only child with a disconnected extended family, Parenthood hits me with a lot of different emotions in the span of an episode. Part of me thinks it'd be horrific to not have an ounce of privacy in my everyday life, but there's another part, buried deep in the back of my mind, that kind of admires how close the Bravermans are. It takes a lot to be that ride-or-die for someone as Adam, Sarah, Julia, and Crosby are for one another, but it's episodes like "It Is What It Is" where you see why they stick by one another so closely. Each and every member of the Parenthood family is going through a sort-of rebirth and to be able to make it through and find a new direction in all that madness, you need to have someone to empathize with you. We may not have gotten to see any major emotional breakthroughs on Tuesday night's episode of Parenthood, but knowing the show like I know the show, they're coming. And who better to help finish transforming you from a metaphorical catepillar to a metaphorical butterfly than your crazy, mixed up, over-involved but all-too-loving family?

Thoughts, Quotes, & Observations:
-"I thought those things only played nerd music."
-"She doesn't even own mittens."
-"You need to bring the charm." "It's been brung."
-"...you guys are bringing sexy back to local advocacy."
-You want to know how good this episode was? I loved every bit of Julia/Zoe, especially when the latter gave the former her grandfather's watch to give to the baby.
-Would you watch a show where Zeek and Camille roam around in their airstream, painting and touring the country?
-Jasmine's green dress was too fly.
-Drew wants to be a biology major. Any ideas what Haddie will do?
-Parenthood is taking off for the next two weeks to gear up for its sprint to the season finale. (Actually it's for the State of the Union Address and a repeat, but whatever.) Until we reconvene, feel free to comment below (or e-mail me) with your thoughts on how you think the season will (and should) wrap up.