Season 4 Episode 75

Clair: But you've always wanted to be a lawyer, you've talked about nothing else!
Sondra: I've changed my mind.
Clair: CHANGE IT BACK! After all that money we spent sending you to Princeton? Sondra, you owe us 79,648 dollars and 22 cents, and I want my money NOW!

In this episode, Sondra and Elvin have just returned from their honeymoon. Since they have also recently graduated from Princeton, Cliff and Claire are anxious to discuss their future plans…they expect Elvin to attend medical school and Sondra to attend law school. They are disappointed to learn that Elvin has decided not to go to medical school, but rather to work in a wilderness store. In addition, Sondra announces that she is not going to medical school…she is going to help Elvin in the store.

We have such dreams for our children. Sometimes they even buy into the dreams…and then they change their minds. This episode made me laugh because it made a point with such extremes. Elvin and Sondra went to an Ivy League school (big bucks, big prestige) and planned on pursuing elite post-graduate degrees…and then they changed their minds and decide to work in a wilderness store in Brooklyn! Is there a big market for kayaks and 3-man tents in Brooklyn? They also end up in an apartment that looks one step from being condemned. Despite their initial disappointment, Cliff and Claire pledge to support Sondra and Elvin. They may not understand their decision or even approve of their decision, but their love is unconditional. That is all we can do.