haleyjscott23:

Okay, so this has been nagging on my mind a lot. It has to do with Haley’s parent’s Jimmy and Lydia James and their role in her life after she married Nathan and they took off in their RV.

 When we first met them in season 2 we could tell that Jimmy and Lydia James were those kinds of parents who loved their children unconditionally and would do anything for them. They appeared very supportive of their children. In all, Haley seemed to have some really great parents. And my thoughts on them never faltered on that over the years.

I know I had seen some people’s thoughts that it was wrong of Jimmy and Lydia to just pack up and move on in their RV. I know it was upsetting and Haley was bothered but Lydia explained it very well in my opinion. Haley made an adult decision to get married and move out on her own. And she did it with their support. They discussed it at length and gave it a lot of consideration before they said okay. They had even asked her if she was absolutely sure. At that point their last bird flew the coup. Haley with her decision declared herself an adult and was now, with her husband’s help, responsible for supporting herself. That part of their jobs as parents was done. So wanting to pack up and travel the country was okay.

It didn’t mean they stopped being her parent’s. They didn’t abandon her despite many thinking that’s what they did. Sure they could have waited until after her graduation, but regardless it wouldn’t have been any different if they had decided to wait until then. Haley was no longer part of their household and was living on her own as a married woman. If she needed them for anything they were only a phone call away and always able to come back and visit. They were still her parents and would be there for her.

As the series went on we got mentions every once and a while. Although the writers really could have come up with better explanations as to why they didn’t go to her renewal and graduation due to not having the actors guest star. I know it was supposed to come off as the playful funny parents they are but it just didn’t reconcile with the loving parents they were shown to be. Fail on the writers’ parts. Then after her accident in S4 I think it would be safe to assume that they may have talked to her considering some time did passed between episodes 10 and 11. There was absolutely no mention of them that time so we can only make a guess. That was another time the writers could have mentioned something. When we got to the adult years we didn’t hear about them until Haley’s mother showed up with the news of her cancer.

This is where it bugs me. I’ve read a lot of people’s interpretations as to how much Haley’s parent’s were part of her life all based on the fact that they never saw it or heard about it. Really? Do we really need Haley to mention in every episode that she talked to her mother in order for the comment to Lydia about her being the one she always called to be true? I don’t get that logic. If anything the Lydia story line in S7 showed that her parents were very much a fixture of her life and there. So reading how people thought they abandoned her and they weren’t around for the big stuff just bugs me, because they were we just didn’t get to see it since it happened off screen.  I know it shouldn’t bother me since everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but I can’t help it.

Lots of opinions I’ve come across go with the abandonment route. When I read fics I accept that thought since it adds to the writer’s imaginations. When in connection to the show I can’t see it. I’ll stick to my belief that besides Karen and Larry, Lydia and Jimmy James were the best parents on the show. Don’t know if many would agree with me but that’s what I think.