#reverb10 – Moment

Posted by Sarahbear on December 14, 2010

Description courtesy of Skinny Emmie:

This month I’m participating in #reverb10. Every day a new prompt is issued and I will write my response. The goal is to reflect on 2010 and manifest what’s next in 2011. Want to learn more? Visit www.reverb10.com.

The prompt for December 3 is:

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

There are a few times that I felt really alive this year. My trip to Asheville, North Carolina with Chad, Christmas shopping with my sister, writing for my blog and Eden Cafe and all the small moments I’ve had in realizing that I can do the things I intend to do if I try hard enough.

The most intense moments of the year, the one where I felt the most alive, is when I walked into the Albermarle Inn with Chad. The ride up there was so exciting. We saw lots of snow and mountains. We talked more about just what we were doing and each other without having to discuss the budget or the kids. There was a lovely chill in the air that reminded me of the times when we first started dating and encouraged us to cuddle up as we walked down the streets. As we walked into the Inn we were greeted warmly by one of the women who worked there. It was beautiful, tall ceilings, rich wood walls, antique furniture. The kitchen was stocked with lovely dishes and we could help ourselves to anything in the fridge that another guest hadn’t stored in it. We were the only couple there for the first 3 days though, so we had this huge place to ourselves.

We entered our room and it was the perfect time of day. The sun shined through the window and onto the gorgeous bed and mural behind the headboard. There was a lovely bottle of wine, a gorgeous flower arrangement, chocolate covered strawberries and some truffles on a table to welcome us. We lit the fire to warm the room up a bit, put away our things and got cozy on the bed to relax a bit before heading out to find somewhere to eat. Neither of us could wait to see Asheville, plus we were starving, so we found an interesting restaurant to eat at. We found the Biltmore shopping center and walked arm in arm around, stopping into a few of the stores and picking up things that interested us.

All in the first night.

The entire trip just felt unreal. I felt really connected to Chad, after years of simply going through the daily motions of marriage. We were a couple again. Not just parents. It was amazing. It wasn’t just us either, because during and since that trip we have had completely random strangers come up to us and tell us how happy we looked. My sister-in-law e-mailed me after a chance meeting at the grocery store and told me that she hadn’t seen us look so happy in years and that we were both glowing. A woman walking past us at the mall did an about face and stopped us saying ‘You guys make such a beautiful couple.’ Things like that have literally been happening all year since we went on our trip.

That tells me that there was definitely something special about that trip and I can’t wait to take another one in the coming year.