Bye Chandler Bing

Hiiii...

I found out at work. I was on a break and scrolling through IG when I saw a post that was 3 minutes old...Matthew Perry Dead at 54. I screamed out to whoever was listening. I work with quite a few young people and another girl and I had to explain who he was to a guy. I was pretty sure everybody has heard of FRIENDS. I mean it is still in syndication after being off the air for over 19 years.

I don't follow that many celebrities, actually only three. Rob Lowe, John Stamos and Matthew Perry. I have been fans of all of them since my teens. I would follow Keanu too, if he was on social. Anyways, I am still processing how I feel. it's weird to grieve over someone you have never meet, but has been a part of your life for years.

I remember where I was when I found out about the deaths of Princess Di, JFK Jr, & Michael Jackson, but they didn't hit as hard as Matthew Perry's. Not even Luke Perry who was a day older than me. I have never been that into famous people, so I am tripping out that his death has affected me this way. 

I was always "Team Chandler" I like the other friends, but I loved Matthew Perry and his portrayal of Chandler Bing. I remember him from some other projects he did before FRIENDS, most notably one with Valerie Bertinelli. He played her little brother. I also watched the other shows that he did after FRIENDS, plus most of his movies.

When FRIENDS premiered 29 years ago, I worked on Thursdays and did not watch the first couple of episodes, but I started watching and/or recording from the 4th episode in, "The One with George Stephanopoulos." It was on my 28th birthday and I was hooked. I mean it was about a group of single people around my age. A show about how your friends become your family when you're in your twenties. It also helped that they were Gen-Xers. I watched every single episode from then on, that night or the next day, until "The Last One" in 2004. 

Like I said, I loved Chandler Bing, and Matthew Perry. The show got me through my mid-twenties until the night after I gave birth to my one and only son on May 6, 2004. I still have the TV Guide from that week, not the newspaper, since the cast was on the cover. Something people did/do to commemorate their child's birth.

I have watched FRIENDS numerous times throughout the years, usually whenever I would catch it on tv. Right after I lost my husband I purposely watched the whole series in order again. I had already watched the series in order for the with my son when he started high school. He's a fan, too. See my post on our visit to the Friends Experience. {the photos are from that day}

I am still processing this weird feeling...I lost a friend that I never actually knew