8 Times Lorelai and Rory Gilmore Defined Mother-Daughter Goals

When an impromptu road trip saw the Gilmore girls making a pit-stop at Harvard (the university Rory had planned to attend her whole life), it was only fitting that the two ladies (one high school student, one thirty-something year old) fully immerse themselves in the experience by impersonating students. Rory even briefly sat in on a lecture, while Lorelai entertained a flirtatious college boy. 

Leave it to the ladies Gilmore to sign up to attend not one, not two, not three, but four Thanksgiving dinners. Hey, it's not easy being beloved by all! But if anyone can handle the colossal challenge of an all day eating marathon, it's Lorelai and Rory—even if that means stuffing Mrs. Kim's Tofurky into their purses instead of actually eating it.

Bring on the water works. Rory's graduation from Chilton was emotional for many reasons, but above all, it was her valedictorian speech that brought a tear to everyone's eyes. She shouted out her mom, Lorelai, with such high praise that any mother with a pulse would immediately be reduced to a blubbering fool (and Lorelai def was!). "As she guided me through these incredible eighteen years, I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her," Rory said. And there wasn't a dry eye in the audience—not even the ultra butch Luke, who was left clammoring for a Kleenex!

Even though we didn't actually get to see the Gilmores take Europe, we can only imagine that our favorite mother-daughter duo had a blast on their long awaited trip overseas.

If there's one thing we learned throughout this series, it's that no one messes with the Gilmores and gets away with it. So when the ladies found themselves with a plate of deviled eggs just as they crossed Rory's on-again off-again boyfriend Jess's junky car, of course they pegged the hunk of metal with the appetizer. Rory and Jess were, of course, off at the time, and he totally deserved it!

There isn't a more quintessentially Gilmore Girls moment than Lorelai flippin' a u-turn to return to Yale after moving Rory into her dorm, to stay the night with her distressed daughter. And the considerate momma even slept on the floor; you know, so Rory's brand new mattress wouldn't form to Lorelai's taller body. Duh.

Remember that one time when Rory and Lorelai got into a fight? Eek, we know—we've tried to forget about it, too. The Gilmores got into knock down, drag out fight that saw Rory drop out of Yale and move in with her grandparents. A distraught Lorelai just couldn't take it, and the girls didn't speak for what felt like forever. The only good thing about this dark period? When they finally reunited! Lorelai and Rory leaping into each other's arms after all that time was one of the most tender (and tear-jerking) moments of the entire series.

The Max, the Dean, the Jess of it all! Any time one of the Gilmores went through a breakup, the other was always right there, ready to wallow alongside her. Bring on the ice cream!