Life in a Moment: B

Today, my whole body aches. He decided we should walk through the woods, totally oblivious that I had (quite stupidly) decided to wear heals (although they were not drastic or outrageous, they were still impractical). When he finally did realize it, he laughed and said “oh yeah, you'll have to walk over some logs... good luck!” He never was exactly sympathetic to impracticality or stupidity.

We walked down to the lake, and he climbed with expert agility over the red jutting rocks, looking down here and there at the water. “Hmm” he said, peering into the depths just off shore. 

“What's up?” I asked, as he stared down into the dark water under the overcast sky.

“Well, nothing I guess. The last time I was here we sat down there on dry rock,” he said, pointing to a crevice in which about three feet of water sat, feeding back into the mammoth lake that stretched in front of us. “But then again, I guess that's really not 'nothing'. We can blame it on the rain, or we can blame it on global warming, but whatever is causing it, it's still happening.” 

I snapped a shot quickly while he stared out across the small bay where we were wandering, watching the lake. “What are you thinking about?” I asked.

“The water is so calm. The air is so cold, but it's not really that cold. It's overcast. It smells like fall – woodsmoke, frost on the air, rotting leaves, fresh water. It's certainly not what we would call a 'beautiful' day but we're making the most of it, and that counts more than anything.” He turned to me and gave me his lopsided, mischievous grin. “And I will make you make the most of it, especially in those stupid things,” he said, pointing at my shoes.

“Oh really?” I asked.

“Yes, really. We're going to walk.” 

And we did. This avid practicer jiu-jitsu and better health pushed me to walk four miles around Burlington in heels – and my feet may regret it, but I do not.

At one point while we wandered I asked him, “What do you think about having your photo taken from someone else?”

Without hesitation, and without looking back, he said simply; “It's interesting to see yourself from someone else's perspective.”