Anyone who has seen the movie UP knows where the title of this post came from and probably has an inkling of what I’m going to talk about. The rest of the post will be behind a cut. I don’t intend to spoil plot points, but I do want to talk about the themes of the movie and those who haven’t seen the film may want to see it first. I recommend it by the way. It is well worth seeing.
The over-arching theme of UP is that having big dreams contributes to a happy life, but sometimes the best adventures aren’t the big ones we plan in advance. Sometimes life’s best adventures don’t seem like adventures at all when they are happening. In the movie there is a book labeled “Stuff I’m Going to Do.” It was intended to be filled with grand adventures, but life turned out differently. The thing is, life always turns out differently than we plan, no matter whether our plans are modest or grand. The reminder to treasure the little things I have now is a good one, because I am very prone to planning big things and then spending the intervening time waiting impatiently for my plans to arrive. I need to remember to treasure the little adventures.
Today contained a beautiful little adventure. Howard and I decided to take the kids to lunch and a movie. The lunch was nice, a good new experience for the kids. But then we discovered that the showing we’d picked was not 3D. We took a vote and the kids decided to wait 40 extra minutes for the next 3D showing. Those forty extra minutes were lovely. We walked over to a little place that sells gelato (Italian ice cream with fruity flavors.) The kids happily sampled flavors and selected. We then sat outside in the beautiful weather eating the gelato. We made jokes about the flavors. We walked around the building just for the fun of it. We told a round robin story. Then we went to see a fun movie. I can’t guarantee that today will be a life-long memory for anyone, but it was well worth doing. I want to do more of this type of thing. I want to fill my life and the lives of my children with small beautiful moments.