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Ever had one of those experiences that simply takes your breath away? One of those moments where time stands completely still and all you can think is, "wow." I had one such moment Tuesday morning, June 22 at 6 a.m.

Now, for those of you who know me, you are already surprised. I never, ever, wake up earlier than 8 a.m.; so, it must have been a very good reason for me to wake and have a "wow" moment at 6 a.m. I got a call from Gracie Pinney the previous evening asking if I wanted to go for a hot air balloon ride with her and Jack DuBrul. Many Shelburnites have seen the black Automaster balloon traveling in the air above Town. DuBrul has been flying hot air balloons since 1976, and probably has flown in every balloon festival in the state. He has owned seven balloons and presently owns three. Go for a hot air balloon ride? Heck yes! This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time, but never really had the opportunity nor the money to go for a ride. But I did always wonder what it would feel like to be suspended in the air with nothing between you and the rest of world but one of those baskets.

Little did I know that the experience would go down in my memory as one of the best, most exhilarating moments of my twenty-something life. I was cautiously optimistic when I said yes to Pinney because I had tried to go one time last fall, and the ride had to be cancelled because the wind was too strong. But I wanted the ride so badly that I was willing to give it a second shot.

I pulled into the Automaster's parking lot to the happy sight of a large black balloon being blown up - I was thrilled and maybe a tiny bit nervous. I was really going to do it.

Moments later I jumped into the basket with Pinney and DuBrul, ready to take off. Not long after, I was 4,000 feet in the air, suspended above Shelburne and Lake Champlain, at the mercy of my captains, who were at the mercy of the wind.

As a writer, rarely am I at a loss for words. And although it may sound like a cliché, the view and the feeling I got at that height at that time in the morning was indescribable. The view had everything: the mountains, the lake, the valley below. The pale yellow sun had risen and a light haze glazed half of the view. Besides the occasional hissing of the flame that kept us suspended, it was the most quiet, peaceful, and serene moment of my life. The world looks so small from that height. My world was not as big as it had seemed only moments prior. I felt powerless and powerful all in the same breath, and it was an "ah ha" moment: it brought me a greater appreciation for the power of nature, a greater appreciation for the gift from this gracious man, Jack DuBrul, and a greater realization that life is so very precious.

I was enthralled with simply sitting and looking and I felt as though I could have stayed up there all day. However, the wind decided to stop us right over the lake and I didn't feel like getting wet that morning. Pinney and DuBrul were busy calculating our height and at what point the wind would blow us over land. When I asked Dubrul how long we could stay in the air, he said about an hour.

I'm not going to lie, when he said that a little part of me thought, "If the wind doesn't pick us up and blow us over land, we end up swimming..." I neglected saying this aloud for fear I wasn't the only one thinking it.

After lowering us down a bit, we floated and I speculated that we would land over Shelburne Farms' property. "That would be so pretty," I thought. Then the wind shifted, and instead of landing in one of the rolling fields on the Farms, we barely missed landing in power lines and bumped ground in a swamp. The cattails were literally over six feet tall and I felt like I was in a jungle. The crew that followed our balloon by car trudged into the murky mud and water and then walked the basket and the balloon to a clearing near a road. Although I was sad to leave the little basket where my world was peaceful and collected for 45 minutes, I was a bit relieved to plant my feet on solid ground. To my surprise, the balloon was deflated within 10 minutes and fit into a small bag, loaded on a small trailer, and we were back to the Automaster, and back to real life, darn it.

My thanks go out to DuBrul and Pinney for providing me with this life-changing experience. Yes, I said life changing. To be forced out of my little "bubble of life" to look at the bigger picture provided me with an entirely new perspective. The phrase "life is good" takes on a whole new meaning.