And the morning comes...

    The night is so cold and dark...seemingly lasting forever...
    But did anyone catch the sunrise today?  While the sky was still dark, you could see Saturn near the moon.  The sky had an ethereal feel to it, with wispy clouds hanging between the stars...
    Then, over the Rincon mountains, a touch of light...and as the sun slowly began peeking over the mountain top, those clouds became soft hues of pinks and peaches...Father Harry's words came to me then, and I knew that Kim was pushing back the darkness and the coldness and greeting us with a new day, new hope...
     We saw many sunrises together.  My favorites were always when we were staying at Long Beach Island, N.J., cuddled together in the dunes, listenen to the soothing sound of the waves meeting the shore and waiting...
     When the sun comes up over the Atlantic ocean, the rays reach out like bright tenacles, bouncing off of the ocean and reaching towards the beach.  We'd lay there, silent, enjoying the spectacular beauty of it all...then, we'd get up and go to the Beach Haven diner for some breakfast, head back to our hotel and sleep until noon or so before getting down to the beach to work on our tans, throw frisbee, ride the waves and take shell hunting excursions along the shoreline.  It was always magical.
      One of my favorite sunrises was on my 21st birthday.  Kim surprised me with a champagne, hot air balloon ride!  We met the balloonist (is that what they're called?), in a large field at around 5 a.m.  He had his balloon packed in a small trailer attached to the rear of his pick up.  It was amazing to see him prepare it.  He worked quickly with his team to pull out the balloon, stretch it across the field, get the basket ready and then, he fired up the flame to inflate the balloon.
       It was a roaring flame, that lit up the dark morning, bringing the balloon to life.  Kim and I held hands, shivering a bit in the morning chill, the dew wet on our sneakers.  We were so excited.
       When the balloon was ready, the first hints of morning had begun to announce itself.  We climbed into the basket, arm around each other and the crew untied the tethers...we quickly began our ascent to the deafening roar of the flame, giving the balloon more float...as we rose, we stared to the east, as the sun came up over the hills, we were so high up in the sky, it seemed as though we must be heading for Heaven...
        The ride was incredible, we could see forever...and when we landed, the balloonist popped the cork on the champagne and we celebrated each other...another greatest time...
       Kim's favorite time was morning.  She greeted each day with enthusiasm.  She loved to wake up, make herself a chai tea and sit on our back porch, listening the birds, watching our pup play and soaking in the beauty...
      May all of your sunrises be beautiful...

      Love,
             Dave

John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."