Finally, months after the movie originally released to select theaters across the States, I was finally able to see Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. For more reasons than I’ll outline here, I loved it from a strictly film/sequel/cinematography/acting/storyline/Irish accents perspective. I can’t wait to own it and watch it again.

But I also loved it because as the first scene unfolded to show an Irish coastline sweeping into an Irish countryside complete with herds of sheep, I caught my breath and slipped my arm into Brian’s, remembering for a moment how that scene looked in real life.

The couple scenes that took place in Ireland were so short, others who saw the movie might not even remember them. But they were beautiful, and, like a song or a smell that conjures up a specific memory every time you encounter it, they took me to a very happy moment in my life.

Heading into the holidays, time spent with family and friends, and a new year, it’s a perfect opportunity to look back on all of the memories from this year and years gone by in preparation for 2010. I can’t believe it’s almost the five-year anniversary of my time in Northern Ireland; most of the time it seems like just yesterday. I also can’t believe we might execute reunion plans among the friends who shared that experience with me.

I have a lots of plans for 2010, but one is to continue making memories, especially of new people, places and experiences through my travels. Funny how a several second-long scene in a movie can inspire all of that.