Experiencing cold and wet exuberantly

The story, as I remember a friend telling it, is that many winters ago, his wife was driving somewhere with their toddler on a snowy day. At some point, she discovered the toddler had completely undressed himself, despite being snugly strapped into his carseat. Friend said that spouse said that toddler said he had stripped down in order to "experience cold."

That wording, obviously, has stuck with me. I like the idea that one does not have to be something unpleasant (or pleasant, if coldness is your thing), but instead one can experience something--and the difference is a choice.

As part of my recent effort to age exuberantly to make my life worth living, I have decided to experience more and be less. One outcome is that I now walk long distances in the rain on chilly days. Rather than being cold and soggy, I get to experience cold and soggy! 

Thus I met friends for lunch a six-mile roundtrip chilly rainy walk from home, and I did not melt! 

Thus I headed ten miles down the greenway to the mega-mall in a breezy drizzle, and then (because it was during my second annual "car-free February") hopped onto a bus to get home. 

Thus last Saturday, I walked 15.5 miles from Durham to Chapel Hill in the rain, to meet up with friends for dinner and an opera. Because wet shoes and socks generate more friction against toes than dry ones, I had the added bonus, just before reaching the restaurant, of mindfully experiencing the exact moment when a blister that had been simmering for days finally gave up the ghost. (Because I am also attempting to age with a smidge of style, at least in public, I had an opera-worthy pair of flats, dry socks, and a dry shirt in my backpack; I changed in the restaurant restroom and left my sneakers behind in the trash can. Thanks for the 500+ miles, shoes!)

Of course, exuberance does not require rain. Posts on sunshine-filled walks coming soon.

---

Photos from a Saturday walk to Chapel Hill. I planned my route to go through Duke Gardens...

...where spring flowers were already abundant.

The rain began in earnest as I left the gardens, so I walked most of the way to Chapel Hill under an umbrella.

I've been meaning to post a photograph of this bridge for a while. This is on Academy, where it crosses I-40, and it's the scariest bridge-over-freeway that I've traversed so far. The concrete barrier comes up as high as my kneecap. Fear of tripping and plunging onto a car going 70 mph outweighs fear of getting hit by a car going 45 mph, so I walk in the street instead of on the narrow sidewalk. 

Durham is full of subdivisons that have half a block of sidewalk on either side of the main entrance. This spot was notable for having an entire block of sidewalk. Most of the walk to Chapel Hill looked like this--just without the sidewalk--so this was the last photo I took.