Notes from Lorelai Gilmore
Lessons learned from everyone's (or at least my) favorite fictional mother
Welcome to Moments & Mirrors! 🤍 Moments & Mirrors will unfold as a collection of stories and reflections drawn from my own experiences, with the hope that they inspire ideas for my daughters to inherit and individualize. So glad you are here, friend! 💌
This post was inspired by Notes from Elle Woods written by
. (Elle, along with Lorelai, is one of my fictional-inspo-queens).
I, along with so many others, find ultimate comfort and coziness in the show Gilmore Girls. There’s a reason that it was in the top ten streamed shows of 2024, despite debuting over twenty years ago. The show just has heart. It’s simple while engaging, nostalgic and warm. I find myself particularly drawn to the witty and charismatic Lorelai Gilmore.
If you are unfamiliar, uhm…first of all, please go watch this show! (Seriously - out of all the “girly” shows I watch, this is the one that even my husband is a fan of). But quick rundown of what the show’s about:
Lorelai grew up in a wealthy, privileged home that never actually felt like home to her. When she gets pregnant at 16, she leaves her parents house and raises her daughter Rory in the quirky-feel-good town of Stars Hollow. The show picks up when Rory is 16 and Lorelai is 32.
Over the course of the show, we watch Lorelai navigate being a mom to intelligent and bookish Rory, while also being the daughter of traditional and, err, a bit snobbish Emily. I love the generational aspect of this show - it’s what makes such rich character dynamics and storylines! I even floated around the idea of naming my second daughter Lorelai at one point…
Below are some of the lessons and wisdom I get from Lorelai Gilmore that I apply to my own life and motherhood!
The Skill of Self-Reliance
Lorelai owns her independence and built the life she wanted, all on her own! She never relied on her family’s wealth or let her future be dependent on someone else. From starting as a maid at in inn and working her way to up to management, she had faith in herself and worked hard to provide for her and her daughter.
A Time To Be A Mom & A Time To Be A Friend
There’s a time for Friday night pizza and movie marathons, and there’s a time to tell your daughter she can’t go on her boyfriend’s motorcycle or that it’s wrong to steal a yacht… or ya know, other less extreme mothering examples.
Own The Screw-Ups
We all make mistakes. It’s okay to admit it - and more importantly, you should acknowledge when you do. While Lorelai makes a few dumb decisions, she never has too much pride to do the right thing and apologize when it impacts others.
Your Past Doesn’t Define You
You may grow up in a home with maids and chef-prepared meals in fancy-shmancy Hartford and become a teen mom…but that doesn’t mean can’t move away to a quirky small-town and be an amazing mom who fills her home pop tarts, good music, monkey lamps and love. Lorelai always lived in the now.
Find The Humor
Making people laugh is a wonderful thing to do - for others and yourself.
Define Success On Your Own Terms
Success does not have to mean Ivy-league degrees, living in a mansion, or having a million-dollar career. It can mean living a tight-knit community you love, having a job you genuinely enjoy, and having your own loving family - however that looks for you.
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee
There’s nothing a good cup of coffee can’t fix (Okay, maybe there is, technically…). But coffee is just a way of life, my friends. Always have coffee.
Be Yourself
Own who you are, baby! Coffee-addicted, rhinestone-wearing, pop-culture-loving, sarcastic, fabulous you.
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Now Playing: There She Goes by The La’s
Gilmore Girls was my postpartum comfort show after having my first baby. My daughter would dance every time she would hear the theme song. Growing up with no sort of relationship with my mom, I can only hope for a mother-daughter relationship with my daughter like Lorelai’s and Rory’s 🤗