Portland 2014

Jeff and I just returned from a weekend in Portland. As many of you know, we often go to Portland for a weekend in early January to celebrate Jeff's birthday. The weather frequently blows, but I still look forward to the tradition of bundling up and wandering the city in the rain, popping into bars for a cocktail and then heading somewhere new for dinner later in the evening. We usually sleep late and eat just two meals a day: a big breakfast around noon, cocktails at 5 or 6 and then a nice dinner at 8 or 9. It's so different from our 7am breakfast, noon lunch and 5:30 family dinner at home that it makes it feel like a real vacation, even though it's only 2 days.

Last night, we ran back to our hotel in the pouring rain, immediately peeled off our soaking wet clothes and watched a movie in bed. We browsed our options before hesitantly selecting Before Midnight. I say hesitantly only because we'd read that it was pretty heavy. This movie "series" holds a special place in my heart because Before Sunrise - the first of the 3 - came out in 1994; the same year Jeff and I met and fell in love. Plus, no one melted my heart in 1994 like Ethan Hawke (except maybe, I guess Jeff). We recently rented Before Sunrise and felt nostalgic for those simple, romantic times. Oh 1994 and your slip dresses, chunky shoes, plaid shirts, and goatees. To watch another young couple in the same year meet and fall for each other brought back so many memories of those early days for Jeff and me. One of which was WATCHING this very movie in 1994 together and feeling that (in a very 15 year old way) it was SO us.

I haven't seen the second movie, Before Sunset since it was released in 2004 - another big year for us because it was the year we were married. I remember being crushed to learn that Ethan Hawke's character had married someone else and I remember that I saw a lot of Julie Delpy's boobs, but otherwise, I don't recall much about the second film.

This third movie was harder to watch. The characters are now in their early 40's, Ethan Hawke is now just 3 years older than Jeff in the movie. I think the transition from late 20's to late 30's (or thereabouts) is a tough one. Frequently, this is when you have children and have to navigate the move from being companions to being co-parents and this is no small feat. The characters are together in this movie (and have twins!), but oh, how hard it is to be together. The rose colored glasses they were sporting in 1994 had certainly been removed and even though the end isn't too traumatic, I still needed to be spooned after it was over in a reminder that Celine and Jesse are NOT us after all. We might be cranky sometimes, but we are never quite SO angry. Plus, we for sure would never waste a child-free night in a nice hotel like that. The horror!

We had a nice weekend, if a bit damp. We often spend part of the drive there or back brainstorming goals for the new year. We talk a lot about things we'd like to accomplish, things we'd like to do better than we did last year, etc. I'm not a big believer in official New Years Resolutions, but I like this relatively new tradition we have of getting on the same page about the year. Being more intentional about how we live our lives.

In 2013, we accomplished many of the things from our 2013 Portland List. We took a trip to New York, Edie and I took a girls' trip to California, we spent a week on Orcas as a family, we made a will, we finished (mostly) the design for our kitchen and bathroom remodel, and saw more live music. I also went back to the gym. Not until November, but it was November of 2013, so it totally counts. This year we are resolving to maintain a more positive attitude in the face of petty household and parenting difficulties. We are also resolving to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary - either with a party or a trip. Or maybe both! Just like the characters in Before Midnight, we will have been together TWENTY YEARS by mid-2014. And when that time comes around, I'm totally passing out rose colored glasses because 20 years is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it's pretty fucking impressive that we still make each other laugh on a daily basis. And maybe I'll wear a slip dress with Doc Martens to go with my rose colored glasses at the party. And Jeff can grow a goatee. Hahahaha!! That was funny because we all know Jeff won't do that. But wouldn't it be funny if he did?