Country Hikes

I'm a member of an American Women's club here. It's a great way to meet people and get involved. There are many subgroups in which you can participate. When I first signed up last year I had planned on joining the country hikes group. Sounded like a great way to get out into the beautiful English countryside, get a bit of exercise and get better acquainted with other moms at the school. Could kill a lot of birds with one stone! Hiking boots are required (this is a serious group!) and I hadn't owned proper hiking boots since I was a teenager. While out picking up things for the kids at the beginning of the school year last year I bought some. I was set! Well week after week I ran into conflicts, and by the time Christmas holidays rolled around I still hadn't made it to a single country hike! And the winter months to follow did not exactly inspire me to strap on the boots and brave the wet cold. By the time spring rolled around I felt like I was too late to the party to join in. So my hiking boots remained then a full year old and never used.

This year I find myself busier than ever (interesting as now all my kids are in full-time school). I'm more involved in school affairs than ever, on this committee and that. I'm also working more than I have in recent years. Life is busy! But I am determined to make use of the boots! I felt a bit deflated when I got the country hikes schedule and learned the first hike was square in the middle of my trip to New York. And the second one was the day after I returned (jet-lag going east = sluggish mornings). So finally this week I was able to go on my first hike with this group. Five miles in a glorious, crisp autumn day, which concluded in a lovely pub lunch before dashing back to the school for a meeting. The group hikes at a pretty brisk clip, so not so photography friendly. I managed to get a few, but not as many as I'd have liked.