Day 29: Moments That Take Our Breath Away

This largely unedited free-write is linking up with the Write 31 Days Challenge. // indicates the start and stop of five minutes. The prompt word for today is DATE. Go! //

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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Penned by Maya Angelou but made famous by Hitch, this beautiful phrase often rings through my mind. And so today’s prompt word, DATE, got me thinking of all of the amazing moments that have made my life rich.

Moments that brought depth and colour. Moments that mattered.

Like the moment when I first met him and I said under my breath, “Pity the woman that gets him.” (Yes, it’s true. I was terrible.)
Or the moment when I first discovered that I really liked him, and the moment he first held my hand.
Like the moment when, after a long walk through the park, he kissed me and definitely took my breath away. Or the moment when he first said he loved me.

But then there are those moments that have substance and timestamps; those moments that have actual dates attached to them.

Like the day he asked me to marry him―at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto (not realizing how badly I have vertigo).
Like the day we got married―every step, every flower, every song forever etched in my memory.
Like the days when each of our children was born. I remember every detail, every emotion, every moment.
Like the day when we bought our first house… and each and every memorable moment we had within those walls. //

Then there were wonderful dates of CELEBRATION over the years, such as parties and birthdays, bar-b-ques and fondues. There were Christmas dinners and New Year’s Celebrations, camping trips and water fights.

There were “DATE NIGHTS” between husband and wife; brief moments of respite when hearts can connect. As well as the “daddy date nights” and the “mommy date nights” when parent & child would escape from the noise at home and celebrate special connections over pizza and Coke.

Sadly, there are also the devastating dates of LOSS and death, when precious friends and loved ones left this life and entered the next. Moments that still bring tears and heartache.

I remember the LANDMARK dates when decisions were made that altered our family history. Like the day we decided to pack up house & home and move around the world to a new land and culture.

I remember the terrible day when we had to say goodbye to the world we knew and the people we loved, getting on the plane in -35°C and getting off two days later in +35°C.
I remember the initial months of culture shock and meeting the beautiful people who have now become life-long friends.

I remember the times when things went badly, and emotions ran raw, and the times when we laughed so hard that our bellies hurt.

I remember the day when we bought our house in South Africa and, after months of renovations, the exhilarating day when we finally moved in. Such a joy to be able to settle our nomadic tendencies and plant some roots.

And finally, I remember the day when we realized that