Lesson number 1...

Last week for a few days it was just me and the kitties while my recently adopted family was away.
So, I had some time to finish getting over jet-lag, do a little more exploration of Henley-on-Thames, (more about that later, along with some photos), and get settled in a bit more.

Since I arrived the weather has been unseasonably sunny and warm I'm told, though there have been a few grey skies and a bit of rain here and there. One day as I was leaving to walk down to town it was looking a little grey, and having gotten quite wet on one or two occasions previously, I remembered this time to grab an umbrella... there was a forest green one and a hot pink one...  my backpack being hot pink and me, with the propensity for co-ordinating things, like clothing or accessories I grabbed the hot pink one and went on my way.

By the time I got to the first roundabout I thought I felt a sprinkle-by the second roundabout I was sure about it. A little further and it was full on raining. Thinking I was all prepared and feeling pretty proud of myself too, I pulled out my trusty umbrella only to discover that it did not work! So, there I stood in the pouring rain, fooling with the umbrella. The trouble was that not only would it not fully open, but also, the little thing-a-ma-jig that makes it stay opened was broken. 'Just hold it in place' I thought and proceeded on. Almost immediately, a gust of wind messed with that idea... so another stop, another attempt at figuring something out. Just then a royal mailman rode by on his bike looking at me curiously. "Umbrella doesn't work" I said. As if it wasn't obvious, and don't ask me why I felt I must explain. He just nodded and gave me a 'oh, that's too bad' look, but, I suspect he had a good chuckle when he was out of earshot.

At that point, I was pretty much soaked and decided to backtrack to the bus stop not far away... I closed up the umbrella, turned around and headed back. When I reached the bus-stop I realized it would be at least 20 minutes before the bus came by, there was no shelter, and the rain was continuing at a steady pace...

Hmmm.

At that point, I wondered if I should just bag it and come home or keep going since I was already wet... I chose the later and turned once again towards town... Where I would be arriving in just a few minutes if I had only kept going in the first place and not spent so much time fooling with the umbrella or backtracking or standing at the bus stop in the rain! I'll bet I had not taken more than twenty steps when the rain died down, and in another twenty it had stopped completely!

So...
Lesson number 1: It's probably more important to make sure the umbrella you are borrowing actually works than it is to co-ordinate the color with your backpack! (The green one works perfectly).
Lesson 1a: Getting wet won't kill you - unless of course you happen to be the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz.
Lesson 1b: In England as in life, choose a direction and then...Whatever storms may come... Keep. Moving. Forward... No matter what!

sending love,
susie