Where the Path May Lead
T here’s an elderly woman who lives a few houses down from me. She appears to be about 85, short, stout, full of energy. Today on what felt like one of the coldest in February, 20 degrees with a wind chill of 19 mph, our paths crossed while walking. We greeted one another with an enthusiastic “Hello how are you!” She quickly replied, “As long as we’re able to walk, we’re doing okay.” We continued in our opposite directions, tugging at our collars and burying our hands deep within our coat pockets. Even with the wall-to-wall sunshine the cold temperatures quickened my pace. And just like that, her one sentence stuck in my mind all the way home because I knew there were times when I could not walk. Flu has kept me flat on my back twice; infrequent bouts of vertigo; oral surgeries, assorted viruses; migraines; and more recently a fractured ankle. From this list you may think, “This lady isn’t so well.” On the contrary, I consider my overa