Very UP-lifting

This past Friday, Todd and I and a bunch of friends went to see the new Pixar movie "Up" at the El Capitan in 3-D.  Not only was it an amazingly fun and interesting movie (and I'd be surprised to find ONE person who disagrees!), it also contained some great messages about love, family, adventure, and home.

Kevin, Dug, Russell, and Carl Frederickson, near Paradise Falls in Venezuela:

Mr. Frederickson's house as it becomes airborne:
Russell and Mr. Frederickson pulling his house through the jungle:
And this is how the movie made me feel: so light, uplifted, happy, and free.
And the messages?

1. Love thrives on the small moments that make up everyday life.  A couple doesn't need adventure and excitement to be truly happy - all they need is love.

2. The people that make up a person's family are just those who care about and for him or her, whether or not they're related.  And I love how "Up" didn't sugar-coat the fact that sometimes one parent really lets a child down; luckily,  there was a great man to step up and be there for Russell.

3. Just be yourself - your quirks are the things that the people who really love you appreciate the most.  

4.  A sense of home and belonging isn't created by a physical place or material possessions; it's the experiences and feelings and memories that make a person's home more than anything else.

5. It's NEVER too late to float off above the horizon, to follow your lifelong dream, and to discover new things.

I hope that Todd and I are lucky enough to have the kind of marriage that Carl and Ellie had in the movie, one on which we can look back when we're old and gray, and just smile, thinking about how wonderful the journey's been because we've taken it together...