Perfect Moment

Over the weekend Ben and I went to Hakone for a mini-honeymoon. We had an amazing time! I really wanted and should have written about Hakone before now, and I did try, but I kept feeling dissatisfied with my entries, because they in no way reflected the amazing time I had. I will write about my whole weekend, but for now I have to write about just this one moment.
I had a perfect moment over the weekend. I haven't had many perfect moments in my life, in fact I haven't had enough to count on more than one hand, and I can list all my previous perfect moments on cue.
1. Watching the elation of my dog 'Flash', with my family, the first time he saw sanddunes
2. The moment I opened my bassoon case for the very first time
3.  Sitting on top of my car, listening to music during my senior year after getting accepted into the colleges I wanted to go to, and figuring out that Ben and I would still be a couple when I headed off to college
4. The moment I saw Ben when I was walking down the aisle at our wedding

The reason that all of these moments are perfect is because each and every one came as the satisfaction to something I had been desiring for years, and the sheer luck of everything all coming together perfectly at the same time.

Here is the background you need to know to understand why I had this perfect moment:

-Ben and I dated for 7 years before getting married. We started dating in high school, and we were really just kids then. Very few dreams have lasted all those years, not because they were squelched  but rather because dreams have just changed. One of the few dreams that Ben and I have  kept for all that time was moving to Japan, so to be in Japan as a married couple is a dream come true.

-I lost 40 lbs., the scale hit the 40 lb. mark the morning we left for Hakone. It's been a long hard battle, and I'm not done yet. A little girl on the train pointed at me and said that I was pretty, which made me feel like I had accomplished so much.

-I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a family who loves me, and amazing friends. One of my friends back home was an art history major, and really likes the artist Rodin. The Open Air Museum features Rodin's "Balzac". Walking around the exhibit and seeing pieces that I knew she would love, reminded me of just how happy and lucky I am to have wonderful friends and family.

-I have been dreaming of the art in Japan for years, and specifically I have been dreaming of seeing this statue since I was in high school. To use the most cliche terms possible, this statue just speaks to me. I've made up stories in my head of why this head is what it is, why the artist made it, why they left blank eyes.  For years when my mind wandered I have thought of stories about this floating head. I think it is beautiful, haunting, and zen.

-We arrived in Hakone of the first day of fall, the day was 70 degrees, which was incredible  it hadn't dipped below 80 since we had gotten back for our wedding.

-Ben and I had designated this weekend as a honeymoon, which ment that Ben and I were reminding ourselves and each other of how happy we were to be together, and in love.

-Hakone is beautiful, and the Open Air Museum is one of the most spectacular places in the world.

So here was my perfect moment.
Ben and I had walked around the museum, we had seen the statue I had longed to see for years, we had seen Rodin's "Balzac", we snuck a kiss in a romantic corner, and had made our way to the museums finest gift to it's guests... the hot springs foot bath. We dipped our feet into the hot water, and looked out over the beautiful landscape and grounds. Then the perfect moment happened, Ben reached over and held my hand. Everything came together, everything was perfect. I was incredibly comfortable, exactly where I wanted to be, exactly what I wanted to be at the moment, and with the person I most wanted to be with. My life is so wonderful, my future looks amazing, and I have so many amazing people in my life. I am so amazingly happy!