Stepping into a puddle

Well, it's Sunday again and as yesterday was spent on my arse watching movies and not even going out of the house once, today meant there were no excuses so it goes without saying much at all.  I went out on my usual Sunday walk, except perhaps just a little reluctantly.  The reason for my slow start was on account of frost. When I woke and looked out the window cars parked outside the house had this white frost on their roofs. It meant it was cold out and yesterday was bad enough feeling cold most of the day stuck in the house. If I was going to get cold then it would not be avoided. I put on clothes had a good hearty breakfast and with ruck sack on headed off.

Not far into my walk it is necessary to go over a footbridge. I could go an alternate route but this is the quickest way to get across a railway line.  It's quite a long foot bridge as well because it basically links up to a historical woodland area with old ruins.  Except the thing with this bridge is there are times when it does not drain water away well.  At the mid way point I saw this large puddle. Now the usual strategy is to choose a side to the puddle and hope it is the side which is shallowest.  This is not difficult either, well most times it's not. However, on account it had been pretty cold the night before I could help but notice how a lot of water seemed to also have a lot of slosh in it. Someone else had come to the same puddle and walked on ice in order to get across but the ice was not solid. There I stood for a moment looking at the puddle and wondering. Being a bridge there was no way around it there was only one route and it had to be through the puddle.  It was about 30 plus feet long or 10 metres.  All I had to do was get across and take one step after the other, hopefully if I had selected the shallow side then it might not be so bad.  I therefore placed one foot, toes and ball of foot first into the puddle.  My foot sank down to the bottom which was somewhat deeper than expected. I pulled it out the water easily seeped into the trainer.  It was obvious, if I crossed this puddle both feet would be completely soaked I would then have another two and a half hour walk with cold soaking feet. Trainers and feet were not going to dry out. At which I had visions of pneumonia and being laid up in hospital all for the sake of stepping into a puddle which could lead to severe health issues.  There was only one choice in reality. 

I thought back to a book I am reading which says you should make  your obstacles the way, which is to take advantage of them. I thought about getting some Wellington boots standing on one side and offering to give people a piggy back over to the other side, all for a small cost.  Then realised I don't have rubber boots. I didn't have the ability to walk on water because my trainer was soaking, I didn't want to get ill and still needed to get some exercise.  The one alternative was to head back, get new socks another pair of trainers on and continue via the alternate route. This puddle was the obstacle which was not going to be overcome in any other way. I even considered briefly the notion of getting a broom and trying to sweep some of the water away. Which would of likely been a diversionary task taking as long as my walk would of. 

So the moral is, sensibility will win over stupidity.