Filled Up With Memories

Tonight we had a Netflix night. We watched Disney Pixar's Up. I really liked this movie. It was a great way to end the week. The last few weeks I have been feeling down and this was just the lift I needed.

Up is the story of a 78 year old man and an 8 year old boy. A very unlikely pair. The 78 year old man - Carl Fredricksen is just a boy himself when the movie begins. He has a hero named Charles F. Muntz. He meets a girl named Ellie and they realize they have the same hero and a lot of common interests. Ellie has a scrapbook that she titled 'My Adventure Book' and she admits that one of her dreams is to move her clubhouse to Paradise Falls. Their story continues as they grow up, get married and have their own adventure called life. They never make it on any big adventure. After Ellie dies Carl decides to move their house to Paradise Falls when the courts force him to move into a retirement home. So he attaches a ton of balloons to the house and takes off. What he didn't realize was that he had a stowaway - Russell. An 8 year old boy who is a Junior Wilderness Explorer and is trying to earn his last badge so that he can become a Senior Wilderness Explorer. Their adventure takes them all the way to Paradise Falls and when Carl gets there he opens Ellie's scrapbook to put a picture of Paradise Falls in the book. At this point he realizes that Ellie has already filled the book with all the adventures of their life - none of them were the adventure she first dreamed of but they were still important to her. There is a note at the end of the book that Ellie left for Carl to go on and live his own adventure and that is what he does - he and Russell have a great adventure.

Now I enjoyed the entire movie - it was wonderful. But what I really loved about the movie is the way they emphasized that we don't need grandiose, over the top excitement to have an adventure. Everyday of our lives is an adventure if we just look for it. It was incredible how Ellie filled her book with their wonderful lives. It really got me to thinking about some of the things that Thomas and I have planned and haven't been able to get to yet. It doesn't seem so urgent to do all these things - if we get to them great but if we don't that is okay as well - I know we will have a wonderful life. It has been wonderful up to now.

We have taken a trip to Europe, two trips to England, spent time in Vancouver and Victoria in Canada and seen a quite a bit of the United States. They were all great trips but after watching Up I started thinking about some of the simpler things. Like hiking up to Raven's Ridge and sitting on rocks at the edge, enjoying the views and watching chipmunks running around us. And cross country skiing on our property after a good snowfall. Spending an entire Saturday lying in bed and reading. Redecorating the house room by room. Road trips to anywhere (we really love driving together and spending time in the car - it gives us a chance to really talk). Taking walks in the arroyo behind our house. There are thousands of other things we have done that were our own adventures - plenty to fill a scrapbook with. This movie really made me smile and brought up a flood of memories that span the 20 years Thomas and I have been together. Thanks Disney I really needed that.