These boots....

...made all the difference in the way my morning went today. It's Saturday, and not just ANY Saturday. Tomorrow, Daylight Savings Time returns, and I lose an hour of sleep. Sleep is precious these days, and I HATE to lose even a minute. So, this morning, I planned to sleep in. Late. REALLY late. But, the bug hunter had stayed up last night, watching fishing shows and bonding with Handsome Hubby. Considering how busy HH has been lately, I hated to break up THAT party, so BH went to bed a couple of hours past his bedtime. And, just like the good doctor says, that means he actually sleeps LESS. Reality hit before 7:00 a.m., when BH marched into the bedroom and said, "It's time to get up!" He was voted off the island and just about to be banished to his room when the phone rang. HH is in real estate, and it was a work-related call (YES.. we get calls before 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday.. doesn't everyone?). And then HH zipped into the bathroom and moments later asked me to please come look at his neck, which was all swelled up from some virus he's been battling for days. And in the middle of it all, my plans for a sleep-in just simply vanished, like morning fog as the sun comes up. Ever the optimist, I looked to Plan B, which was "Make a FULL pot of coffee, cook a nice breakfast, and relax." But, due to the phone call, HH had to head on out (after calling the doctor and getting a new antibiotic prescribed). And then, the bug hunter came in from the deck and said "Mom, remember those frog eggs I told you about in the creek?" And I mumbled something like "Yes, honey, I remember them in great detail, just as you described them!" (or not.. more like... "unnnn huh....".. ). And then he said, "Please come out and look at them.. please?"
Cup of coffee, with cream and sugar, just as I like it? Check. Still in jammies? Check. Go outside at 7:30 a.m., in a misting drizzle? NOT.... wait.. WHY not? "Son, let me put on my clothes and get the dog, and I'll be right out." I threw on leggins and a sweatshirt and shoved my feet into some lightweight slides. I got the dog, got her harness and leash on, and out we went. BH was stripping bark off a log, and then he splashed through the creek and pointed out a spot. "Here are the black frog eggs", he said, "But Mom, the really cool ones are the white ones. You HAVE to see the white ones!" He pointed down-creek, and I thought he meant just a little way down. But then he said, "They're past the tree that crosses the creek, just a little ways!", and I knew we were in for a hike. "Son, I have to go change my shoes.. I'm not prepared to go in the woods in these", and I held up a foot to show my slides, with no socks and bare skin. I came in the house and started to put on a pair of tennis shoes. But something told me that they just wouldn't be enough. BH likes to get IN the creek, and go OVER the creek and THROUGH the woods. I thought about my various footwear, and then I remembered my waterproof boots that rarely get worn. For whatever reason, I decided to put them on. I'm so thankful that I did.
Those boots? were perfect for the TWO hour walk we took, up and down the creek, through the woods, around a pond, down another street, and finally home. Those boots? Did NOT leak, even though I was fully in the water with them numerous times. Those boots? Had lug soles that gave me secure footing, even when we were going across slippery rocks, muddy leaves, and other treacherous footing.
And since those boots met my needs this morning? I got to spend two hours with my bug hunter, watching him balance his way up a tree that had fallen down a hillside. I got to laugh as we approached a marshy area, where spring peeper frogs were singing in loud chorus. Until they realized we were there, and began to go silent, one by one. Until that last little froggie kept on singing.. and I could just IMAGINE his mom, whispering "Shhhhh... quiet.. QUIET!!" Shoot, some frog may have clapped a webbed foot over his mouth.. but it did finally get totally silent. I felt the glare of frog eyes, all around me. And on we went, because my feet were dry and comfy and so I was content to keep going. We went past the neighbors who have a veritable Noah's ark of animals in their sloping pasture, including a herd of llamas. Who came thundering halfway down the hill when they heard us approaching, and then froze. Honestly? I never realized until that moment that, from a distance and head-on, llamas look like furry pears with ears and legs. And then, the bug hunter and I noticed how very, very still the llamas were, and we spun a yarn about ninja llamas. We were nearly attacked, shortly thereafter, by a protective pair of Canada geese who were guarding their lake; the dog nearly found her retriever roots when she saw them floating in the middle of the water.
It was a wonderful morning; I walked, and breathed, and laughed, and loved. But without those boots? I wouldn't have been prepared. And it hit me, even as I was walking home with my boy, that in order to withstand the journey, you have to be prepared. Without the right "shoes", you cannot go where you need to, and if you try, you WILL get discouraged. With the right "shoes", the journey is a lot easier, and a lot more enJOYable. And what shoes are right for this journey we call life? I bet you can figure it out:
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, what shoes are you wearing today? Is it time to put on a new pair, or are you prepared for the road that lies ahead? There's so much joy in the journey, as long as you're prepared! Oh.. and at the end of our hike? We ran into our driveway and discovered that the bulbs we planted a couple of years ago, that have never really bloomed out, had decided to help us celebrate the arrival of spring. If I hadn't been prepared for the hike, I'd have quit and come back in the back door, and I would have missed this: