travels

new years day, above the fog

the morning after the wedding, i woke up to a cup of coffee by my bed and my friend asking if i would be interested in any breakfast. i was certainly grateful for both in light of leaving the wedding at 4am (and in light of the fact that i hardly left the dance floor). i had a train to catch to milan in the afternoon, but my gracious hosts insisted we drive up the mountain to try to see the town that had been largely hidden by fog since my arrival. even in my limited visibility, i was enamored by the beauty of the winter forest and the medieval churches that would seem to just suddenly appear. even still, i wanted to go up the mountain — i wanted to see.

we loaded up my suitcase and began the ascent. the thick, gray fog stayed with us every step of the way until the very last bend when, all of a sudden, everything was different. the sky was the brightest of blue, illuminated by a giant sun. i could see the alps, i could see little farmhouses, i could see everything. tears instantly filled my eyes as i reveled in the privilege to begin a new year here on top of this mountain. how wild that this place and this view were here all along!

in returning home, i have found myself in a different kind of fog. the joy & beauty of life that are usually natural for me to behold have felt far and unreachable. some days, they has felt lost.

but that day on the mountain did teach me something: what i was looking for was only hidden, not lost. i just needed to lift my head above the fog.

the wedding

there i was on new years eve standing in a room and looking into the eyes of a friend i hadn’t seen in years. beyond the wild realization that i was on the other side of the world in a truly picturesque town, it was the endurance and beauty of love that hovered above me the entire night, and hovers even now.

time can do so much to us. it can age us and embitter us. it can bring decay and damage. it can forge separation and make us forget. but as i took the below photo of sarah and her new husband, i was reminded that true love — deep love, whether between friends or lovers, is immune to the threats of time gone by. even with the years between, love preserved and sweetened the embrace of my swiss friends and was the very reason for the marriage i was now an honored witness to. time passed between us, but it did not steal a thing.