I have been binge watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix for weeks now and finally said “Bon Voyage” with the rest of Stars Hollow as I wrapped up the last of the entire seven-season series last night. Little did I know, until the 10 o’clock news, that I actually finished this witty, zany and heart-felt iconic TV show on the very day it first aired sixteen years ago. Cool, eh?

I don’t know how I missed Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Sookie and the rest of the town folk when they originally aired in 2000; but considering that I was a newly divorced 30-year-old home owner trying to get my own life back on track, maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t glean too much inspiration from the spunky thirty-something independent single mother of the series. Plus, now that I am a mom, I probably better related to the ups and downs and celebration and heartache that were woven into each season of the series. I also loved the infusion of “current affairs” and pop culture in each episode (especially since I know how most of it turned out), and enjoyed the regular trips down memory lane.

What I did discover midway through my Netflix binge was that a Gilmore Girls revival was being planned and will air the day after this Thanksgiving on Netflix. So I guess I’m kind of a cheater because I don’t have to wait nine years to catch my next glimpse of Stars Hollow. Perhaps this scheduled reunion and the knowledge that I didn’t have to completely say good-bye clouded my judgement of the series’ last episode, but I really liked how the writers nudged viewers in the right direction but didn’t wrap up all the loose ends before the set went dark in 2007. I can completely imagine the lives and storylines of all those characters (with the ups, downs and usual antics) continuing to play out in the nine years in which we didn’t have a front-row seat. I can’t wait to see how successful Rory has become (as if she was my own), if cell phones are still banned in Luke’s diner and how many children Sookie and Jackson ended up with. Of course there’s always the question of Lorelai’s love life, but hopefully the four forthcoming episodes (dubbed A Year in the Life) will answer a few of these questions without completely closing the imaginary door on Stars Hollow for good.

I know it’s a TV show, these characters don’t really exist, and it’s probably not healthy to get so wrapped up in an event like this, but isn’t it kind of nice to imagine a place like Stars Hollow where we can always grab a cup of joe at the diner, join a snowman building contest, dance all night with your mom or rebuild a bridge at the Knit-a-thon? Come to think of it, life just might be a little bit better if town meetings were held in local dance studios at odd hours of the day, or night, where everyone could lovingly gang up on the man in charge.