Yes, one moment, please. Heard of the saying ‘One moment can change your life’? Visions of winning the lottery or becoming a parent for the first time used to flood my mind. It’s when a moment so unexpected comes along that you realise it’s the small moments that create the biggest ripples.

I once met someone, who let me talk, let me be me, wanted to go for coffee, was late so it turned into drinks and invited me to a movie the following week. While we sat in the theatre, he lay his hand out flat and looked at me. With a quizzical look on my face I asked him ‘What?’, he said ‘I’m asking you to hold my hand.’ And the rest is history. That moment changed my life. He later went on to travel with me, grow with me, buy a home, build a life and kneel down in Manhattan and ask me to be with him for the rest of our lives. That moment, during the movie, the moment I decided to trust him changed my life.

No matter how hard we try to create a perfect moment, life sometimes gets in the way. The He in question is now my husband, he had planned for over 6 months to propose under the Rockefeller Christmas tree; had worried at the airport that the security team would reveal the engagement ring if they pat him down too rigorously; let me guide him through New York to the tree and then saw me panic at the sight of the thousands of people that ascended on the twinkling lights of the world’s most famous Christmas scene. It was very overwhelming and crowds that deep bother me. That night we walked away from the tree and he walked away from the planned proposal. He kept his cool so well that when he did propose the next day, I was speechless.

Literally speechless, my throat had closed from a particularly nasty cold, team that with the tears running down my stunned face and the shock it took a moment for me to realise I hadn’t said yes.

We had wandered to Madison Square Park, before our brunch booking a few streets away. It was all blue skies and beautiful, the park was quiet, a Sunday morning, and the resident squirrels were climbing up onto the bench to say hello and even up the Mr’s pant leg. I was in my element. New York. Sun. Animals. Bliss. And that is when he did it. I suppose we are very lucky a squirrel didn’t grab the ring in some way of harbouring a hostage for some food!

You see, you can spend your life trying to perfect an upcoming moment, or you can live everyday like the next moment is going to perfect.