Friday, December 3, 2010

the coldest day of winter

December 3 - Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors.) (Reverb 10 - Day 3)

A moment. A single moment in time. Did time stand still long enough to remember any moment this year?

One cold, January afternoon, as my son napped, my husband insisted I go for a walk. It had been months since I had been alone. The moment I stepped onto the frozen sidewalk, the cloud in my mind lifted. The biting cold wind whipped through my hair, freezing my cheeks, burning my lungs. My boots crunched happily over the packed snow as I walked over the path through the park. Everything was white, stark, frozen - even my breath.

Were there others out that day? I think so. In my mind, though, I was alone, on a mission, giddy to be myself. Myself. Not mommy, wife, daughter, just myself.

All I remember was the cold, cold air, the crunch of the ice and snow, the painfulness of each frozen breath, and the shockingly red stain of a bird carcass on the white snow, bones picked nearly clean.

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