Fixer Upper: The End of an Era

Tonight, we say goodbye to TV’s golden couple, Chip and Jo. 

     Well, at least until next Tuesday when their new show, Behind the Design, premieres. But really, tonight is the end of an era. For the past 5 years, we have invited this amazing couple and their family into our living rooms. We’ve watched them do everything from transforming their own 100-year-old farmhouse into everyone’s dream home, to moving their offices and shop to the old Silos downtown, to writing books, to starting a bakery, a bed & breakfast, a furniture line, a paint line, and a restaurant, and in-between all of that, flipping pretty much every house in Waco, Texas. Chip and Joanna Gaines have not only set the world on fire with their farm-chic style, they have stayed humble and true to themselves while their lives played out on TV for millions of people to see. 

     Chip and Joanna aren’t just #couplegoals because they’re good-looking people with a TV show. They are real people, with a family, and real lives that they made sure they didn’t stop living just because there was a camera around. Their emphasis on family and faith never faltered or went away. And while I’m sure a lot of their viewers (my grandmother being one of them) loved seeing a nice, Christian couple on TV, I would bet that at least half, if not more, didn’t really know or care about their religion. I believe Chip and Jo just do their best to live as good people and good parents and it comes across in every episode and every interaction they have with the camera.

     I write this tonight, not as a promo for a show that I love (I do love it, if you couldn’t tell) but just as my way of saying “thank you” to the Gaines family. I want you to know that I, as a viewer, acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifices you made to put you life on TV. I appreciate you letting your children grow-up on camera for a few years, it has been a joy to watch them. I am thankful for you letting me see the amazing work you are doing in Waco. Thank you for providing an HGTV show that I didn’t mind watching with my family (seriously, before Fixer Upper came along, I hated HGTV), and in turn, creating a wonderful family show that we could all sit down and watch together.

     A few weeks ago, in my Sunday School class, we were talking about the sabbath. We debated on how the word could be interpreted today since, in this world, it’s fairly unrealistic for the average person to literally do no work on Sunday (or any day). We talked about how sabbath means peace and how, maybe we could take it to mean that we need to find times of peace in our day. When I got home from church that day, HGTV was having a Fixer Upper marathon. I immediately thought to myself, “this is my sabbath, this is my peace.” And it’s true. Television has always been an escape for me and something that means a great deal to me. Fixer Upper is the only show that I can say brings me complete peace when I watch. I might be laughing at Chip or in suspense of what snafu they just hit with construction, but I am truly at peace when I watch the show.

Chip, Joanna, Drake, Ella, Duke, and Emmie Gaines, thank you.