Julie and Julia ... a story of two women

Nora Ephron has a knack for revealing the heart of a woman. Three of her movies, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail, speak of a woman's desire to love and be loved ... to find that one person who makes the heart sing. Ms. Ephron has hit another cord in a woman's heart ... discovering her passion.

Julie and Julia is based on two true stories of women who questioned the direction of their lives and had the courage to recreate themselves in the process.

In August 2002 Julie Powell began documenting her daily efforts of cooking each of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's class book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her blog, The Julie/Julia Project, was eventually reworked into the book of the same name. Nora Ephron began the movie, Julie and Julia, in March of 2008. The first major motion picture based on a blog opens this weekend and I am excited to view it!

Why am I so excited? First, it is a Nora Ephron movie! Secondly, it stars Meryl Streep as Julia Child and I believe Meryl is a fantastic actress. But more important than these two points, I am drawn to the theme of courageous recreation while following one's passions.

Julie Powell caught a vision and intentionally followed it for a year. She had no promise that working her way through complicated recipes and recording the experience on her blog would have any lasting value ... but she was passionate about the attempt. She caught the vision and labored to fulfill it ... and that is courageous.

Julia Child is an inspiring story of a woman who wasn't afraid to pursue her passions. Julia was born in 1912, a time when most women were limited to the demure roles of wife/mother, secretary, nurse or teacher. At 6' 2", Julia was not a woman to blend in. A graduate of Smith College, she volunteered for the Office of Strategic Services and played a significant part in the communication of top secret documents between U.S. government officials and intelligence officers (translated "spy" for a developing CIA). Julie met her husband, Paul Child,while serving in China.

When Paul was reassigned to Paris, France in 1948, Julia became enthralled with French cuisine. In 1948 (at the age of 36), she enrolled in the world-famous Cordon Bleu cooking school and the rest is culinary history. Her 800 page classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, was published in 1961. After her televised demonstration of preparing an omelet, Julia became the star of The French Chef TV series and forever associated with fine foods.

At the age of 50, Julia was willing to recreate her life and venture into a new life. The second half of her life brought great joy, satisfaction and success. Rather staying the course of her first half, Julia had the courage to step into a new world, take the risks and, in the end, reap more than she could ever have imagined possible. She continued to write cookbooks into her 80s and passed away at the age of 92.

That is what An Engaged Life is all about ... believing that the second act of life can be an adventure.

Looking forward to seeing this movie of two women willing to begin new adventures. See ya at the concession stand!

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Barbie turned fifty!! Despite some bad press over the past several years, Barbie has maintained her charm and composure. She has serenely continued on her mission of entertaining and inspiring girls around the world.

Okay ... I have to admit that Barbie didn't entertain or inspire me a whole lot. At some point in my early childhood I received an "original" Barbie, complete with yellow ponytail, rigid legs and feet deformed from wearing spike heels. Her one "store-bought" outfit was supplemented with beautifully designed home-made dresses and a few hand knitted garments as well. I doubt if any other Barbie possessed a comparable wardrobe.

Eventually, a Barbie Dream House (complete with cardboard furniture), a Dream Mobile, and two friends, Midge and Ken, were added to my collection.

My last childhood memory of Barbie was in third grade ... I took Barbie & Co., along with the wardrobe trunk to school. As the girls oohed and aahed over my collection, I enjoyed building skyscrapers and highways with the boys. Shortly after that, Barbie and Friends were stashed away in the back of my closet as I moved on to more important business.

Years later, I dragged out my collection for the entertainment of my daughters. Somehow, Barbie didn't quite grab their attention as they preferred the baby dolls whose eyes opened and closed as they cried "ma-ma." Barbie's reign as "doll queen" didn't last long.

Eventually, my worn out Barbie collection and home-made clothes were given to my pastor's daughter. Here Barbie found a true admirer. Rachel played for hours, dressing and styling and accessorizing. Maybe Barbie did influence Rachel, as today at 22 she still loves to dress up, primp and accessorize.

My only regret is that my original Barbie with the year 1959 imprinted on her bottom turned out to be a collector's item ... but by the time I knew this, Barbie was tired, worn, scarred, and showing her age ... sort of like real women!

Happy Birthday, Barbie ... where ever you might be! You and I both have stood the test of time ... we are real classics!

Benjamin Button, Act Your Age!!

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, has found new life in the movie of the same name. Brad Pitt portrays "Benjamin Button", born as an elderly man and dying as an infant. The common theme throughout the story is ... Act your age.

As a child, Benjamin preferred smoking cigars and studying the encyclopedia more than playing with his rattle, stuffed animals or trains. As an elderly man, Benjamin found more pleasure in playing soldier or creating wonderful designs from colored strips of paper in the nursery than discussing business and politics. Eventually, all memory faded from his mind and he found pleasure only in his daily feedings and the presence of his nanny.

Benjamin Button's chronological age never did match with his physical age ... which created great anxiety for both his family and those in his social circle. He never could seem to act his age.

This story causes me to think of comments frequently heard in reference to aging. "Isn't it amazing that he can still do that at his age?" "She is way too old to be wearing that outfit." "Isn't it wonderful that she went back to college at her age?" "Doesn't he look great for his age!"

Magazines often display headlines telling us that we can take years off our appearance with just a few changes. Celebrities and models are said to be changing the image of over fifty.

What does "age" look like? Who decides how fifty, sixty ... or eighty should act?

Lessons from a Balloon Ride

As a child, I remember being captivated by the hot-air balloon in The Wizard of Oz ... the Wizard drifting slowly toward the heavens leaving poor Dorothy in tears with feet firmly planted on earth. From time to time I would glimpse colorful balloons drifting through the sky and imagine the view from such heights. When our town would host an occasional Balloon Fest, my daughters and I would wander through the field, camera in hand, admiring the beautiful creations. The beauty of glowing balloons after dark could never be quite captured on film ... or at least on my film! Then, in celebration of my 50th birthday and 25th Mother's Day, my daughters gave me the gift of floating through the sky. A combination of nerves and excitement filled my heart on a beautiful day in May 2006. Finally, I would experience what I had only imagined since my first viewing of The Wizard of Oz.

As the hot air expanded filled the cavity of the balloon I was amazed at the heat, the noise and the ever growing size of the balloon. With its increasing mass, the balloon began to take on a life of its own and required pushing and tugging to keep its position somewhat stable. The balloon wanted to drift one direction on the ground, but the handler tugged on a rope in an attempt to keep the balloon stable in the best position for accepting the hot air shooting from the propane heaters. The balloon and the crew were in a struggle of the wills ... and the crew would prevail.


Once the balloon began lifting from the ground, more strength was needed to hold the basket close enough to the ground for us to climb over the sides. While tether ropes would keep the balloon from rising into the sky, muscles was needed to pull it close, hold it still and slide over the top of the basket. A bit more difficult than I had expected ... but I was quickly inside what turned out to be a very tight area. The basket holds not only passengers, but also the pilot and several heaters that will keep the balloon aloft. My life at this time depended on silk, jute, and the skill of one man as we rose to several thousand feet above the earth. I had no control over anything that would happen within the next thirty minutes ... except the ability to relax, trust and enjoy the beauty below me.

We weren't the only balloon in the sky that late afternoon. We waved as the two balloons drifted by in the silent sky. Other than an occasional "swoosh" of the heater shooting a puff of hot air inside the balloon, the sky was filled with silence. We were floating in a peaceful world that had no connection with the activity of daily life ... time was suspended as we hung there between two worlds. The sun was slowing drifting toward earth and the sky was filling with oranges and purples as we began our descent to earth.

Lessons from a Balloon Ride:

~ Adventures come at the most unexpected times in the most unexpected ways.

~ You need to leave your comfort zone to experience an adventure.

~ To prepare for an adventure, you may need to submit your will to the will of others.

~ An adventure will bring a paradigm shift … be prepared.

~ Sometimes

just “being” … breathing in the peace and stillness of a moment can be enough.

~ An adventure doesn’t need to be complicated or lengthy or radical to be an adventure.

~ While the “landing” may be bumpy, it is only temporary; the beauty of the adventure is worth any bumps along the way!

Mystery of Transfiguration

The words lept from the page! Yes ... they summarized that moment in my life!!

"The call rings up the curtain, always, on a mystery of transfiguration. The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for passing the threshold is at hand." ~~ Joseph Campbell

It was time for me to step out onto the stage of a new life ... to be transfigured. I could stay in my safe, small part of my world ... or I could dare to create a new life, embark on a new adventure, allow myself to be challenged ... only if I would dare ... to step out in faith ... to discard that which would hold me back ... to let go and reach out with empty hands!

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"
~~ Phil 3:13,14

Not Midlife Crisis but rather Midlife Reprioritization

2000 was the year both my daughters left for college. They were excited to learn new things, meet new people, experience independence and learn about themselves! They were entering a new phase of personal growth. With hardly a backward glance, my girls stepped into a new season of life without me, their mother.

2000 was the year I entered a new season of my life. I was excited to learn new things, meet new people and learn about myself! I began to imagine I could be something other than be a mother. I began to hope that God had an extended plan for my life ... maybe he had a purpose for this new season of my life. What did I want to do, where did I want to go, how did I want to live my life?

Those questions led me to Second Acts by Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine ...

Turning Point

August 27, 2000 sizzled!

Dusk was falling as I turned east toward home and my nineteen year old daughter turned west toward college. I was frustrated and exhausted after a Sunday spent dealing with a car breakdown far from home, repacking cars, doing a "dump and run" in my daughter's dorm room and traveling for hours on the interstate. All the "mothering effort" ended with a wave as we parted ways in the middle of nowhere.

Three hours of solitude in my newly repaired car offered time to examine my life. Driving east into the deepening darkness, I knew at home I would be greeted by two cats and a hamster. One daughter was north in college and the second was west in her dorm room ~ and I was all alone.

Alone ~ Solitude ~ Quiet ~ Emptiness

Alone, alone, alone ~~ the word echoed in my mind and my eyes filled with tears. I saw a parade of days stretching before my eyes; days filled with loneliness, quietness, emptiness. Tears overflowed and drifted down my face ... more tears ... and I grieved over an ending in my life.

As the odometer clicked off the miles, I contemplated the incredible change that had occurred that Sunday in August. By the time I turned into my driveway, I saw opportunties in aloneness, possibilities in emptiness and privilege in solitude!!

Thus began my journey into my second adulthood ...