Saturday, November 17, 2018

These Boots


It was a beautiful fall day. You know the kind: where the air tastes sweet with sun-baked pine and the wind turns the fallen leaves in orange eddies around your ankles.

I was walking. Nowhere special. I remember concrete and traffic. A strip mall, Value Village and a greasy brown bag full of hot samosas.

But despite the ordinary, the day was bright and clear. My heart swelled with joy. I played with my steps, skipping over the cracks and I thought:

Life is worth living for the feel of pavement beneath my boots.

Years turned, seasons changed. It’s so easy to forget a single moment of pleasure.

Two months ago I had a stomach ache. I ended up in emergency with severe internal bleeding. I'd been taking ibprophin to reduce swelling in my knees whenever I ran, and it had eaten a hole through my small intestine.

That was August. Now it is November. I’m still recovering, but my doctor has just cleared me to start some light exersice again.

I can't run fast. I can run far. My knees swell and ache. I take it slow and understand I won't be running a marathon anytime soon.

But it is fall and the air is sweet.

And today I remembered that moment.

That it’s not about how far, how high or how fast, but rather the pleasure of 
one happy step after another 

on a crisp and clear fall day.

:)

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