Ultimate Blog Challenge - Describe some of the happiest Moments in your Life

Welcome back to UBC! Day 6's assignment is to 

Describe some of the happiest moments in my life

Instant thought: seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in person for the first time! It must have been 1999, my ex-boyfriend and I took an epic road trip visiting all the great sights in Southern California plus Las Vegas.

We had arrived the night before from Los Angeles in pouring rain. Originally we wanted to spend the day at Universal Studios Hollywood, but doing so while getting soaked was not my idea of fun, so we spent several hours on Freeway 5 and arrived at the Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf with zero visibility, had a quick dinner at Denny's across the street and went to sleep. 

The next morning the sky was all clear and blue, and immediately we were on our way to see the bridge. I distinctly remember standing at the tourist spot at Conzelman Road and feeling overwhelmingly happy and privileged to have the opportunity to experience this breathtaking view. 

Another very happy moment was the surprise proposal by my now-hubby. We were traveling in the Southwestern part of the U.S. Obviously this happened a few years later than the trip above, but actually it was a similar trip when it came to the destinations. 

In the years since, my ex had left me for another woman, which was devastating and depressing. Somehow I nevertheless found the strength to realize a long desired dream and moved to San Diego to attend classes at UCSD and apply for jobs even though I did not have a green card. I got this close to getting hired as a recruiter at IKEA, only to have everything fall apart after 9/11. 

I came home to Switzerland, got together with now hubby, and less than two years later we found ourselves at Yippee-ei-o! Steakhouse at Grand Canyon N.P. 

The fact that he popped the question, was particularly significant because we had not yet conclusively agreed on whether we wanted children. If he didn't see himself as a Dad, there was no point in getting married, I had told him at some point.

Accordingly, one might expect that the birth of our son five years later was another moment of happiness. It was and it wasn't. My birth story was too long and too complicated to qualify as simply happy. Add a touch of post part depression, and the happiness is entirely out of the picture. I do, however, remember a Friday afternoon, about a week after I got released from the hospital and was slowly recovering from my wounds and blood loss. It was a glorious fall afternoon, and I had taken a stroller walk with Colin.

I remember feeling happy about the fact that my coworkers were probably being held hostage in lengthy meetings while I had the opportunity to be out and about with my baby boy and to enjoy the sun and the leaves that were about to turn colorful. 

This is us arriving at my parents for a (bathroom) visit. 

I was about to wrap up this post when I said to myself: That was it? You had a baby 15 years ago, and that's the last great happy moment? Really? What have you been doing since then?

The thing is, while there may not be an isolated happy moment that sticks out, I would generally call the years happy, if that makes sense. And if I had to pick a moment, it would be one that I was happy for my son. It was when he was told he was welcome to join the youth hockey team.

His (and as a bonus, my) hard work and dedication were recognized and rewarded. 

Over to you, tell me about some of your happiest moments?