"Girls" creator Lena Dunham may be under the impression that 50-somethings are hating on her, but if my Facebook and Twitter feeds aptly reflect a microcosm of my 40+ demographic, it's clear I'm not the only grown woman in town who's totally stoked for this season of Girls. As women literally old enough to mother the "Girls" girls, these 22 minutes of brutal honesty, youthful exuberance and immense hubris bathe us in redemption week after week and goddamn it, we just can't get enough. If, like me, you're an old dog who likes watching new tricks, here's how "Girls" can help us hone a deep and lasting appreciation for our city miles.
It Quells Nostalgia
For me and my elder ilk, "Girls" serves as an appetite suppressant for our collective midlife crisis. Through bearing witness to each "crackcident," each messy break-up, each demeaning internship, we laugh at our own checkered pasts from the safety of a distant perspective, appreciate how far we've come and how much we have to be grateful for.
It's Quotable
Catch phrases like, "I'm your crack (or insert viable option here) spirit guide" can be awfully useful when you're suffering kid-inflicted sleep deprivation and are too dull-witted to conjure up your own material.
It Tells Universal Truths
Learning how to take care of yourself fiscally and emotionally can make you, as Hannah says, "really afraid of everything, all the time." So does learning how to take care of a dying parent, or another teeny, tiny human being. And speaking of teeny, tiny humans, being professionally surpassed by lucky savant who "waterbirthed her truth" can happen when you're 24, 44, or 64.
The Market Is Overrated
We may no longer be as flexible or nubile as Jessa, as naively self-absorbed as Hannah or Shoshanna, nor as rigidly regimented as Marnie, but there's something to be said for getting to the point where you can wean off the teat of your gay husband, function professionally and find a loving partner and stealth piece to have and hold in-house. Like you almost have it kind of together.