She taught us to roll with life’s plot twists

THE MEMORABLE musings of Catherine O’Hara’s character, Moira Rose, on “Schitt’s Creek” were more than entertainment for me.

- ANDREA JAVOR GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

CATHERINE O'HARA, who died last week, memorably embodied Moira Rose on the riches-to-rags TV show "Schitt's Creek."

(AMY SUSSMAN Getty Images)

Moira was my touchstone as I struggled with the reality of an unusually transient life, having lived in 29 homes by the age of 46.When I heard that O'Hara had died last week, I nestled under my favorite couch blanket and hit play on “Schitt’s Creek.” I'd seen the series countless times, often quoting the hilarious lines that she delivered with such singular eccentricity — dripping with sequin-laced cunning.

Like the Rose family, I was forced to move. As a child, new addresses were presented as progress —for your dad’s job — as my family absorbed an ethos in the 80s and '90s to go where opportunity sprouted. For me that meant five schools in five years between the ages of 13 and 18, with only the promise that I was becoming an excellent judge of character by being dropped into new social milieux over and over. As an adult, moving became quieter and more tinged with shame, prompted by divorce, a layoff and rent hikes every handful of years as I tried to “make it” in the big city.