A Great Day for Up

Last Sunday I saw the movie Up. I haven't been to the theater in a long time and it was a real treat.

It was fantastic. Not a children's movie at all, but for me it hit me in a place deep down. I really think you are exposed to things at specific times for a reason. And it was the right time for me to see this movie.

A couple gets married, enjoys life and gets ready to move onto the next step, children. We find out that children aren't in the cards for them and they continue to move on. A childhood dream of the wife is to visit Paradise Falls, somewhere in South America. Due to circumstances they don't make it. After she dies, the man decides it is his mission to go there to live that dream for them.

The movie is about living your life to the fullest, no matter what life brings you, even if it isn't what you or society believes it should be.

As a women in her mid-30s I can feel that. Children haven't happened for me and my husband and may never. While around me babies are being born left and right to family, friends and acquaintances. This is deeply painful. And with no health insurance at this time and no extra money, infertility treatments and adoption are out of the question. And to hear people ask you when you are having kids or hearing them announce they are pregnant can wound deeply. But you have to smile and move on.

I have started coming to terms with living my life to the fullest with or without children. And I have to stop waiting around and be active in my life to bring more meaning to it in other ways. To figure out what God wants for me. So I've been asked to join the Parish Council at my church, a leadership role, and I've accepted. I'll paint the spare room whatever color I want because pink or blue might not be in the cards. I'll take care of my health because I want to live and live well. I'll spoil the children born around me because it's right. And I'll be sensitive to others who are dreaming of children but haven't achieved it. Because it's a personal thing and no one has the right to make you feel unworthy, less of a woman or a man. And it's not about them, it's about you and your adventures in life.

An Open Letter from Sarah

Dear Wonderful Readers,
Today I had the chance to visit the St. Petersburg Museum of Art. There was a fantastic Andy Warhol exhibit that really opened my eyes to the artist. I have a new appreciation for his art. Of course there were the wonderful paintings by Monet, Georgia O'Keefe, Renoir, Cezanne..etc.
What really struck me though was the "More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Archives of American Art" exhibit. This fantastic exhibit showcased 58 letters from artists. The letters were all illustrated beautifully. I loved the care they took with not only writing letters but also making them beautiful.
Letter writing is a lost art. With blogs, Twitter, Facebook and e-mail it is so easy to send your regards electronically. It is also so easy to hit the delete button.
This made me think about what will people have to look back on for my generation. E-mails with tons of abbreviations, incomplete sentences and stupid forwarded jokes? Tweets? A YouTube video showing someone lip-syncing to a bad song?
There won't be the wonderful love letters stacked and tied lovingly to be re-read on a whim. Or notes from a child home to his/her parents. Letters between best friends sharing confidences.
It makes me sad. I have a box of cards and notes from my husband when we were dating that I want to sit down and go through. It makes me want to write notes to my friends to say hello.
It's amazing how seeing an art exhibit can inspire a person. So words to the wise: Go to an art museum, you'll never know what will inspire you.

Sincerely Yours,
Sarah