8 February 1999

Pause

The burden of everything lifted slightly, if only for the space of a few hours during one stolen weekend off.

We escaped to the slightly warmer climes of Williamsburg for two nights of uninterrupted sleep, two deliciously lazy mornings and three scrumptious meals.

And yes, for a while there I was feeling almost human again as we strolled hand-in-hand through colonial streets, all thoughts of the outside world far from our minds, existing only for the present moment.

The weather was suitably February-ish, but not overly cold. Sun alternated with lowering gray clouds and spits of rain, but no showers came to mar the long, slow hours.

The room ... ahh. The room was wonderful as it was last year: spacious, serenely decorated and dominated by an enormous king-sized bed. A plethora of pillows and a comfortable mattress made for maximum sleep achievement.

Breakfast in bed on the first morning was a sinfully marvelous delight: oatmeal, fresh fruit, sweet-potato muffins, rich hot chocolate, aromatic tea. It's hard to find something more relaxing than eating while perched in a bed so large, you can't see its far edges.

I needed this so badly you see ... to go away and be pampered and to forget. To let all the worry and self-doubt fall away and just ... breathe.

Sabs needed it too, but I am just ... so grateful that he is the kind of person who could see that we needed the break and insisted on making it happen.

Life is sweet when spent quietly in the company of someone you love.