Eric quotes from 7th Heaven

Eric

We haven't spent time together for a long time.

Annie

It's been a week.

Eric

A week is a long time when you're in love.

Eric

You know, in some ways your mother hasn't changed since the first day I fell in love with her 20 years ago.

Matt

And in other ways?

Eric

She's mean. Really, really mean...I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I love her. It's just that lately it's a lot tougher to love her.

Matt

You know, I'm so glad I have to go to work because I don't like where this conversation is going.

Annie

I'm quitting school.

Eric

What?

Annie

I'm quitting school. No more college.

Eric

I didn't know how much teaching meant to you.

Annie

Well, it's not the teaching really. It's being around kids. You know how much I've always loved having children in my life, working with them, helping them. You know, in a couple of years, Sam and David, they'll be in school. Ruthie's doing great. Simon's in high school. Robbie and Lucy are in college, Mary's in New York and Matt's going off to medical school. So...our kids need me, but they don't need me. If I teach every year, I'll have a new batch of kids who I'll need to help the way I helped our kids. It's the perfect job for me. All I have to do is take what I've been doing at home for the last 20 years and put it in the classroom. I can do it. I think I'll be good at it.

Eric

I'll help. I've always supported you in whatever you wanted to do. I love you. I want you to be happy.

Annie

I want to be happy, too.

Annie

Lately, with all the changes I've been going through I found that sometimes I'm more comfortable in the company of women. I love you, but you know, sometimes I need to talk to a woman.

Eric

Why is that?

Annie

I don't know. Women: we're all part of a club. Rich, poor, fat, thin, happy, unhappy, we're all going through the same things. And you can be a lot of things for me, but no matter how hard you try, you'll never be a woman.

Eric

Never wanted to be until now. But I get your point. You and me, we're okay?

Annie

We're better than okay.

Matt

(to Eric and Annie) I'm gonna be... a gynecologist.

Annie

Well, he does love women.

Annie

Well, I don't know what Christy's parents are fighting about, but whatever it is it can't be more important than their daughter. Don't they see how their fighting is affecting her?

Eric

You know, there are a lot of parents who believe that as long as they are not yelling at their kids their kids aren't affected by their yelling. They don't seem to understand that a parent's relationship with each other affects their children for the rest of their lives. If we can learn how to have a good relationship from our parents, we can learn how to have a bad relationship from them too.

Annie

Thanks, but of course, I know all that, which is one of the many reasons they asked me to teach.

Eric

Hey, I'm just trying to be supportive.

Ruthie

(to Eric and Annie) You know, you guys fight a lot.

Annie

Do we fight a lot?

Eric

Maybe, I don't know.

Annie

You don't know if we fight a lot?

Eric

I don't know what answer won't cause a fight. Maybe I need to find a better way to communicate with you.

Annie

And maybe if I take hormones, everything will go back to normal?

Eric

I didn't say that.

Annie

But you wanted to.

Eric

No, I didn't. I want you to do whatever you need to do. And I want us to stop fighting.

Annie

But we've always had fights, and we're always gonna fight.

Eric

Well, then maybe we need to find ways to fight that are more productive and friendly.

Annie

You're right.

Eric

I honestly was just trying to help.

Annie

But I don't always need your help. I want to solve my own problems by myself.

Eric

We're a team. A good team. We've always worked together and our relationship has been the better for it.

Annie

But lately I feel the need to have things that are just mine and I'm going to try to be nicer.

Eric

And I'm going to be more considerate of your feelings.

Annie

I do love you.

Eric

I love you, too.

Annie

I guess we need to show it more, huh?

Lucy

[to her family] Robbie and I have something to tell you.

Ruthie

Is this about you two being together?

Lucy

You know about us?

Ruthie

Oh, everybody knows.

Lucy

[to her family] Does that mean you're okay with us being together?

Eric

No.

Hank

Julie and I are not in a fight. We're in total agreement. We both want a divorce.

Eric

Divorce?!

Hank

Julie and I are getting a divorce. So if you'll excuse me, I have patients.

Eric

Mary tells me she's here permanently.

Annie

Permanently? That's the best news I've ever heard. We have our whole family back together again.

Eric

Don't you want to know what happened with Wilson?

Annie

I'm sure she'll tell us eventually.

Eric

[to himself] What's wrong with this picture?

Matt

What are you talking about?

Eric

The prodgial son.

Matt

Or the prodigal daughter.

Eric

[about Mary] She's still incredibly irresponsible and she seems to have absolutely no awareness of that. How are we going to make her conscious?

Annie

Oh, you mean how are we going to make her confess. Here we go! It's Richard Nixon all over again! I love Richard Nixon.

Eric

Since when did you love Richard Nixon?

Annie

Since I heard someone saying that what God is showing us through parents is that he loves us despite the things we do, not beacuse of the things we do. You don't even recognize your own sermon, do you?

Annie

Do you have a problem with my punishing the children without your approval?

Eric

While I don't want the garage apartment for my own, I can understand why they're upset about your giving it to Mary. We don't even know if she needs it.

Annie

So? They don't know if she doesn't. Maybe she and Wilson need it.

Eric

I got the feeling from Wilson that they broke up and he's just letting Mary tell us, and I gotta know why that is. Because it suggests the why, it won't be something we like.

Annie

What do you feel her problems are?

Eric

I feel her problems are that she's irresponsible, self-centered, and inconsiderate of other family members.

Annie

I think she wants to be responsible, and that's something. I think it's good for her to be self-centered right now. It's good for her to focus on herself and come to love herself, because that's the first step in loving others. And I don't think she's inconsiderate of other family members. On the contrary, I think other family members, including you, are inconsiderate of her and her needs at this time.

Eric

So we can agree to disagree about Mary and who she is and what her future holds, but I think that Matt and Lucy and Simon and Ruthie are in agreement.

Annie

With you, and you are wrong, just like you were wrong about Nixon.

Eric

(to the twins) He should have apologized.

Annie

I was wrong and you were right, but not in the way that you think.

Eric

Still, music to my ears.

Annie

Mary is not the prodigal son, and I made a mistake in treating her as if she were. She never left to go discover herself. She didn't go out into the world and get into trouble and hit rock bottom and then come crawling home for forgiveness. She never did that. She showed signs of getting in trouble, and we sent her to your parents before she had the chance to do something that she or we would regret. And you know what? It worked, Eric. And I don't think we've ever given ourselves credit for doing the right thing in saving her from hitting rock bottom. Now, maybe she didn't learn anything. But I think part of the reason why she claims that is that she's afraid that she did. She's afraid to make another mistake.

Eric

You know, for a guy who just got an apology, I'm feeling pretty lousy.

Annie

It's a lecture coughed with an apology. I think if we can just let Mary discover who she is and what wants to do, surrounded by our love, guided by our genius...then maybe she will learn something. Maybe she'll even contribute something to the world.

Eric

Let's just aim for Glen Oak.

Mary

[to her parents] I am really sorry that I let everyone down. And I am sorry that as part of this wonderful family, I didn't realize that doing all the things that led to my getting asked to leave would affect everyone, and not just me. I apologize. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. And I want to thank you for letting me go live with the Colonel and Ruth, and I'm...not the greatest student of life, but I must have learned something, and I want to be here now. And I hope you'll give me a chance to do better, because I can do better.

Eric

And I want to apologize to you, too. I think I could have cut you some slack when you showed up here, but instead, I...

Mary

Don't cut me some slack. Stay tough. I need that. [leaves]

Eric

Okay. [to Annie] Wait. What did she mean by that?

Mary

[from the top of the stair] I mean I still need you.

Eric

Did she tell you why she quit?

Simon

No. But it wouldn't be like me to ask my mom why she does anything. She's my mother, but she's your wife. Maybe you can ask her, or maybe not. I don't know how those things work.

Eric

Well, aren't we calm for everything that's gone on around here?

Annie

I feel very calm. I've been feeling very conflicted, but as of today, I feel very calm. And that's good because with all the tings going on out there in the world, it helps to stay calm in here. See, I had this dream for years to teach, and finally after all that time, I got my dream when Mrs. Mackoul asked me to join that staff at Ruthie's school. It was very much my dream come true.

Eric

And now you're giving up your dream come true?

Annie

It's no longer my dream. I love working with any one student, but I feel disconnected working with a group of students in the classroom. I want to do more than discuss questions of morality. I want to inspire each child to lead a moral life. I think I can find a better way to do that.

Eric

And you don't feel sad that you always had this dream to each and once you got it, it wasn't what you wanted?

Annie

No, it probably happens to a lot of people.

Eric

Yeah, it does, but...usually they just hang on to it because after all that dreaming it seems a shame to give it up or admit that it was a mistake.

Annie

Well, I feel good about it. For me, letting go of the past is freeing.

Eric

Hmmm, evidently that's a gene that wasn't inherited by Mary or Lucy. (they both laugh) We've got a lot of letting go to do over the next few years.

Annie

Yeah, we do. But we've got a lot of holding on, too. (they both look at the twins playing)