I'm sitting in an uncomfortable place.
(Nothing profound here, I'm literally sitting on the uneven stone cap of a century- and-a-half old civil war fort.)
(Nothing profound here, I'm literally sitting on the uneven stone cap of a century- and-a-half old civil war fort.)
My discomfort keeps me switching positions, shifting my weight.
It's not til I pull one foot up underneath my other leg that I see the bottom of my shoe.
These things have been collecting on the soles of my shoes, and very 'princess and the pea', I see why my feet were starting to ache.
These things have been collecting on the soles of my shoes, and very 'princess and the pea', I see why my feet were starting to ache.
In between the traction-grabbing grippy knobs (like I need those), is a whole mess of sandspurs.
Not making the immediate connection between their name & why they're stuck to my shoes, I reach down & try to brush them away.
Once the flash flood of profanity subsided, I thought I might be in trouble.
This was going to take some time.
Very gingerly, one by one, I have to s-l-o-w-l-y remove them. The tiny needles have pierced the soles, & I brought nothing with me that would make the job easier. Excision with my fingertips has become an exercise in surgical precision.
As I pluck away, I try not to focus on the pain. I let my mind wander.
Why in the world do sandspurs show up in the places we like to escape to? The little buggers pretty much go unnoticed in our relaxation, until we go off the beaten path. It only takes once.
How long have these things been in here??
Had I not say down here, would I have seen them?
Had I not done something different, I never would have seen the amount of junk accumulating while on my afternoon walk.
They're everywhere!!
As I finish with the soles, my eye catches one on the side of my shoe.
There's another.
And another!
They're intertwined in my shoelaces; they're clinging to my pant legs.
They're hiding INSIDE my pant legs, poking my skin; wrapped up in my socks.
How does that even happen??
Thoroughly miffed now, invisible needles stuck in my raw fingers, I am totally distracted from my prayer time.
I stand, go to brush myself off. My eyes grow wide as I realize that I've been sitting in a whole pile of the damn things.
Ugh.
