Must Watch: Olive Us Family Video Series
A couple of weeks ago I attended the annual Egg Drop for my son’s third grade class. One of his classmate’s parents couldn’t attend, but her twin brother from another class came to watch instead. After her turn was over, her twin spontaneously got up and gave her a big hug. All the kids and parents awwwed and I turned around because I didn’t want to embarrass anyone with my tears from seeing such sweet and honest sibling affection.
I tell you this story because you must watch this new weekly video series by my friend Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom and her husband Ben Blair called Olive Us (a play on All of Us, but handy since Gabby’s third daughter is Olive). The weekly videos feature Gabby and Ben’s six children and family life, which right now happens to be as American expats living in the French countryside.
The first video focuses on children gardening and upcoming videos will feature their kids cooking and a cultural peek into living in France. But most importantly, it’s the interactions between the siblings that are the most endearing. Olive Us actually developed out of conversations between the family (older son Ralph– a tween– is an aspiring young filmmaker) about what it means to be a good brother or sister and how they talk to and treat each other. I’m sure there are moments of frustration in a household of six kids, but there are moments of kindness and fun and the truth is that we (and especially our kids) don’t see enough of that. I was just having a phone conversation with a new Alpha Mom contributor this week about just this topic. My son loved watching Full House and The Brady Bunch on DVD and I loved that he wanted to watch them because every one was ultimately quite kind to each other, unlike the jarring snark and rudeness that seems ubiquitous on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel shows. Listen, I appreciate wit, but not when it’s laced with meanness or sass.
Even though my son is an only child, I like that he’ll have an opportunity to see those friendlier images in Olive Us. Also, I can’t wait for him to see the gardening episode, especially as we need some weeds pulled from our outside potted plants. The video is instructional enough that he’ll understand why and how to do it, plus it makes it look fun, so I’m hoping it’ll inspire him.
