Hangin' With Mrs. Heck

It’s my favorite time of the year. The leaves are turning gold, the heat is easing up and, best of all, I no longer have to watch endless home remodels on DIY Network just to get my TV fix.

Yes, this week, thanks to the launch of the new fall TV season, I’ll be reuniting with some of my best friends – Sue Sylvester, Liz Lemon, Jules Cobb. However, there’s no one I’ve been looking forward to reconnecting with more over a glass of wine and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups than Frankie Heck of Orson, Ind., and the matriarch of The Middle on ABC.

I wouldn’t mind grabbing a cocktail with Claire Dunphy of Modern Family. She’s funny and slightly socially awkward, but she’s a little too uptight for my liking. Pam Beesly-Halpert and I could get the babies together, but since I lust after her husband, it might make for very awkward playdates. (And can I just ask – what costume designer put Pam in those dowdy maternity clothes last season? Do they not have a Target in Scranton?)

But, Frankie – yeah, we would get along just fine. I see myself in Frankie – the mom who’s juggling the full-time job, the three kids and the loving – though slightly distracted – husband. The mom who leaves parental permission notes for school trips in her car sun visor and loses her kids’ library books. The mom who is desperate for a little romantic getaway with her husband.

One of my favorite TV episodes to this day is when Frankie and Mike took a road trip to French Lick to get a new carpet remnant for their anniversary. Swoon! Romance!

I’m not the only one who identifies with Frankie. Through my scientific research – and by scientific, I mean I asked a handful of my friends – I found the TV mom my participants most connect with is Frankie.

Said Leanne, working mother of a 2-year-old, via e-mail, “She’s a real mom who steals sugar cubes from work to make sugar cube pyramids at 3 a.m" for her kid's school project. Laura, a stay-at-home mom of two kids agreed. “I completely relate to Frankie planning family fun nights to get her kids to stop fighting with one another. I’ve tried it too – it doesn’t work.”

The other thing I love about Frankie is that their house isn’t Modern Family LA-perfect. It’s a ranch house with berber carpet and wood paneling – reminiscent of the homes I ran in and out of growing up in central Illinois.

I feel like the Heck household is my household. Messy and loud and chaotic, but full of love.

So welcome back, my friends from TV land. I’ve missed you this summer and look forward to hanging out with you until May. Except for you, Susan Mayer, you’re really annoying.

So tell me – which TV moms do you most identify with?

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting