Moment in Time, Number 1

I was thinking the other day about all of these moments in life that are really memorable, and help to define who we are. And then I thought, I sure would like to write about those moments. So, from time to time, I will. I'll start with my favorite.

Imagine-Jon and I are in paradise (Saba). We decide "Let's hike up that gigantic mountain." (Mt. Scenery) Those of you who know me probably know that I am not the most physical person in the world...and this is a pretty high mountain. In the picture below...see that cloud up at the top? Yeah. That's where we went.

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The hike started off well, and we saw some really beautiful things. The way to the top of the mountain is to climb some 1100 steps. Doesn't sound too bad, right? What they don't mention is that some of those are 3 feet high, some steps don't even exist, and not one of them is even. And they are all very very old.The picture below is of the steps near the beginning, before I started wishing for death.

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While it was breathtakingly beautiful, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. At one point, I sat down and cried. I told Jon to go on without me. He wouldn't, so I trudged on. We saw 2 lizards doing it on a leaf. We saw leaves that were bigger than me. We saw one tree that had some 30 other plants that I could count, just growing on this host tree.

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But the point of this story isn't for me to complain about how hard it was. That was only so you would understand the sweet victory we felt at the top. When you finally get near the top, your stairs stop. Then, you see a rope that you have to pull yourself up. And then, you land in heaven.

I took off my shirt, because it was so wet from the exertion that it stuck to me everywhere.

This was the moment: We're standing at the very highest point in the whole Caribbean. We can see most of the island. We can see 3 other islands. There is a beautiful, incredible wind blowing. I can feel this wind just blowing away the ache in my muscles and wrapping my back and chest in bliss. We are standing in the clouds. My brand new husband wraps his arms around me and holds me as we look out. He whispered that he loved me.

It was the most perfect moment in all the world. I realized then how lucky I was that I got this man to marry me.

The hike down? Waaaay worse than the hike up. And the next morning? My legs felt like spaghetti. But, it was worth it, and I will climb that mountain again.