I think I have said this before but I am a true romantic and thus a sucker for a beautiful love story. The Before Sunrise trilogy, which I was just recently introduced to, may just be my favorite. If you aren’t familiar with these movies, please allow me a brief introduction.

The first movie Before Sunrise premiered in 1995 and introduced the world to Jesse and Celine, an American boy and a French girl, who have a chance meeting on a train and decide to disembark in Vienna, unplanned of course, and spend an evening together exploring the city and their new friendship. The film ends with Jesse and Celine at the train station making a plan to visit each other in the same spot six months later. Will they meet again?

Fast forward to 2004, Before Sunset. Jesse is in Paris promoting his recent novel about an evening encounter that turns into love (a work of fiction, of course). Through the crowd at the Shakespearean Book Company, where the reading takes place, Jesse catches eyes with Celine. They spend the afternoon walking Paris, similar to their time in Vienna, discussing life and the years lost. We learn that Jesse did indeed travel to Vienna to meet Celine. They share stories of their current relationships, their jobs and the love they still share for each other. The film ends with Jesse and Celine at her apartment. Will Jesse leave and get on the plane back to his wife and son?

Nine years later, we get our answer. Before Midnight begins with Jesse and Celine together in Greece with their two beautiful girls. Did true love prevail? You will just have to watch these films to find out!

These films show us the poetry of everyday life… how the simple choices we make can change our lives forever. Would you get off the train to spend an afternoon with someone you just met? Would you fight for the one who got away? My answer is emphatically YES! I will share more of my own “before sunrise” story later this week but let me leave you with this beautiful thought… “You can never replace anyone because everyone is made of such beautiful, specific details.” Embrace the wrong ones that got away. Don’t try to forget them. They lead you to what really matters. And as a sweet lady told me last week, “Remember, Maybeth… it only take’s one.”