Enjoy The View

Jess and I live in a beautiful place in the Appalachian foothills with seemingly endless rolling terrain. Surrounding us are mountains that some would call hills, and hills and ridges that some call mountains. Beautiful views abound, full of details and history. Many locals take those views for granted. Others appreciate only after leaving.

Here on the crest of a road that I have traveled all my life, I witness a stunning sunset. Although impossible to capture the beauty through a car window, I needed to save the moment anyway and could because I wasn’t driving.

Take The Time

As I travel, I often find myself wondering why I don’t simply take the time to pull over, get out, and soak in the details of the beautiful moments that are passing by. Recently, as I was traveling the back roads of South Carolina, there were many scenes I wished I could capture. Especially, the many fields dotted with white puffs of cotton that appeared to be prime for harvesting.

Maybe next time. That’s what I tell myself as I keep rolling along. Maybe next time I won’t be so hurried. “In the future, I will take the time to pull over, get out of the car and catalogue the details,” I lie to myself.

Slow Down

That’s what I want – to slow down. I see things in details and want to take time to soak up those details. That’s what Jessica wants too. She wants me to slow down so that WE can slow down. For a long time Jess has been waiting for it to be time for us to be a “team”. I am her partner in life and she is mine.

Details

Jess can’t see these beautiful moments so I interpret them to her. Capturing a camera shot is not important to her. But, if I stop, then I have time to tell her about what I see. I see more details because I’m searching for descriptions of the smallest parts of the whole. As I explain things to her she will say, “oh, okay,” as if she suddenly has a clear picture in her head.

She doesn’t. She mainly says that to placate me and so we can move on to the next thing. I want her to see though. That is the thing I wish most for Jessica. For her to be able to visually see the beauty of this world.

Interpretations

I always have and always will interpret our surroundings to Jess. Maybe it means more to her than I sometimes think. Plus, through descriptions, I am sharing myself with her. She hears in my voice curiosity, beauty, happiness, awe, love, fascination, fear, worry, and disgust. In these moments, Jessica learns.

Travel

Jess and I are having open discussions about what we want to do with our future. We talk about where we will to go and what we want to see. She is ready to be on the move. I am too, but I’ll always be ready to come back home to our own familiar hills, ridges, and mountains. I’m pretty sure there will never be a better place to soak in the details. 

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