Julie and Julia

Today, I went to see Julie and Julia. I was unprepared for my reaction as I sat in the fairly packed theater as I watched this movie. Perhaps it's because I've been cooking and baking for as long as I can remember.....perhaps it's because I truly live to eat, rather than eat to live.....perhaps it's because I was lucky enough to fulfill a dream in co-owning and baking for a dessert cafe'--albeit for a brief period of time......perhaps it was because if I had to do it all over again, I would have moved to Paris right out of high school and gone to the Cordon Bleu......perhaps it's because writing and self-publishing two, modest cookbooks was a thrill.....perhaps it's because I've had meltdowns in my kitchen where I've cried over failed attempts, or have just been too exhausted after taking care of whatever was going on in my life but needed (or was driven) to make company dinners from scratch--soup to nuts--baking over 20 batches of Christmas cookies and freezing them......perhaps it is the relationship I had with my own mother who inspired my love of cooking and baking.....perhaps it is almost 30 years of Bon Appetit magazines piling up in my attic (I've recently purged most).......perhaps it was the love, dedication, and adoration in the relationship between Julia and Paul Child..........whatever it was, or a combination of all of those elements, this was a 4-tissue movie for me. Yes, it was funny--but those scenes created teary moments as well. When Paul asks Julia, "What do you really love to do?" And her reply was, "Eat!" "And you do it so well." I so related to this movie that I felt it was my life on the screen. Or at least, my emotions and thoughts. I loved this movie.