A Special Moment in Time

I remember the day well. The sunrise was just peeking above the horizon as I filled my mug with hot coffee, a touch of sugar and spritz of cream. Quietly I moved toward the front of the house hoping not to waken my family. With great care I opened the door and slipped outside, my long caftan softly brushing my ankles.

The morning was spectacular. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh air and quiet as the day began. I moved to the far deck built out over sloping terrain and sat myself on the edge with legs dangling into space. I marveled at the sight around me: lush farmland, a large pond, neighbors in homes not too close and not too far.

Sipping coffee I considered how comfortable my life had become. My kids were happy and doing well; my husband was busy at work and still had time to attend our daughter’s gymnastic meets and our son’s baseball games; and I loved my job. Everything seemed perfect. I felt so content.

While I reveled in my perfect world I did not know that cancer was spreading its devastation in my beloved Nana’s insides. I did not know that my husband’s company would decide to merge with another institution, giving up its devotion and attention to the local customer base and thus losing his support. I did not know that a combination of events would result in our house hunting for the third time in our married life, after having recently built this dream home on a beautiful hillside in rural Pennsylvania. I knew none of what was to come. I was euphoric about the present.

I often reminisce about that morning – capturing the sunlight on my skin as the day awoke; breathing deeply the clean air and enjoying the start of a new day, a new adventure. Since that time I have wondered if in God’s plan we are gifted with magical moments of peace and serenity in order to build strength for the challenges of the future.

Throughout my life there have been so many joyous occasions, each fulfilling and yet different from the others; but, the experience on the deck was so encompassing and heartfelt I look at it as pure contentment. Whenever life becomes hectic and stressful it is the memory of that special communion with my world that I yearn to experience again.