Sunrise...

My first camping trip with Jaige (1 hour out of town) consisted of me sitting on the bed of the Ford F150 with citronella candles circling me while I read, sipped my wine and marveled at being in the presence my very own Hemingway character. Every minute or so I embarked on an insect assassination with my bug spray. We talked, he set up camp, we sat by the fire, I entertained him with my stories. The night went on..... and so did our relationship. Over three years later here I am sleeping in the Clearwater National Forest, Idaho. (1,828 miles away from home.) 5:30 am, the alarm steals natures silence. I lay my head down knowing full well that he will never wake up let alone get up. He likes to sleep. He sleeps best in the woods so I was safe. The night before he had this "great" idea to get up for a sunrise hike... but it was cold, dark and I was still counting my sheep. My shoes were still wet from the 14 mile hike just hours before when we were looking for the hidden lake, and hidden it remains. 7 miles into the hike we gave up and turned around to escape night fall and nurse my bloody feet. Now, with darkness still upon us we tripped, climbed and shivered our way along the path that would eventually lead us to, Graves Peak. Perched on a huge rock, along side of a cliff, wrapped in my Hello Kitty blanket the dawn of a new day, of a new life happened. On bent knee I became a Mrs. A smile crosses my face every time I think of his face, the beautiful words he spoke and the amazing way we became one. Waldon Lakes below, sunrise in my face and hope in my heart. I got the last good guy.....