Moments of madness!

Each day as I walk Jess through the park we wander past a cheerful, burbling little stream, and I love it.  It reminds me of my childhood, of water filled wellies and death-defying rope swings.  The water ripples merrily along, and birds flit swiftly between the trees, skimming the water as they go.  With the added touch of sunshine on a spring day it is nothing but a joy.

There is just one problem.  Over the last few months as I have walked past my stream, and been uplifted by its sheer presence it has begun to talk to me, calling me, trying to entice me back into its memory filled waters, but each day I have walked on by,  trying to quiet the battle within.  My heart said  “Go on Ali, you’ll be fine”  but my head was saying  “Come on, it’s too risky, wait a while longer, till your fitter and stronger”!  (Poetry creeps in even when I’m talking to myself).  And so I’ve continued on each day, walking past my stream, and squashing down the childish excitement that bubbled within me, until…..

The other day Jess was happily chasing evasive squirrels, the park was quiet with not a photography blogger in sight and suddenly, without warning, my heart won the war.  I found myself wellie deep in a lovely, murky, pebble filled stream and I was back in the town of my birth, down at  ‘The Mole’  once again, and for a few special moments I was in heaven.

The only trouble was that I had got in fairly painlessly,  but now I had to get out.

Feeling secure in my Barbour Wellington’s (a brand I would definitely recommend) I had stepped carefully down a fairly small bank, and into my joyful place.  Having squelched happily along for a while and coming to the waters end,  getting out looked a little more risky but.. here goes.

OUCH!!  That hurt!.. The bank was probably only two steps tall but as I put my second foot on the slope my Welly failed to grip (hmm!) and I began to slip, instinctively grabbing the first stinging nettle that looked like it might have a ‘cat in hells’ chance,  of saving my fall!  After successfully making it up the bank it wasnt long before I was hunting for the ever faithful Dock leaf.

Dock leaves are never far away from stinging nettles, I think they just like to grow in the same boggy conditions.  Its not a proven fact that they do anything for the sting although it could be the sap that soothes the pain, or possibly just the placebo effect as we have been brought up to believe that they help, but whatever they do or don’t do the Dock leaf worked its historic magic on me, and if I’d wanted a trip down memory lane that nettle sting certainly did the trick.

I guess we all have times in our lives when we have a battle between our head and our heart. Our head says no, but the passion in our hearts beats so loud and so strong that we take the plunge or risk.   I didn’t come to any lasting harm on my little adventure, but in hindsight and given my recent state of health it maybe wasnt the best of ideas.  It did however bring a smile to my day if only to smile at myself.

As the quote in this picture says.. A wise person uses both mind and heart in their decisions and I think that maybe before I indulge any more of my childhood longings that I will try to amalgamate the two.   Especially when it comes to the tree that is just begging to be climbed!

 

 

Love Alison x