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Susan B. Arico

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Embracing adventure; wrestling the soul

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Susan B. Arico

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The edge of adventure: my unremarkable, remarkable boots

May 19, 2017 Susan Arico

I bought them at age 18, preparing to lead campers on hikes through the New England woods as a counselor. I broke them in on trails overlaid with pine needles and studded with rocks, belting out camp songs and encouraging my fellow-hikers toward the pepperoni, cheese, and crackers coming at the next break.

I used them in the Rocky Mountains at age 20 when my sister and I worked on staff at a guest ranch and then again at Yosemite National Park at 21, padding through trails with my best friend on our cross country trek in her Acura, “Sparky."

They were loyal as any boots could be when they crested Mt. Kilimanjaro, I hiking the summit with my sister near the end of four months traveling through southern Africa. 

I had them on at the top of Mt. Washington when I was 28, my husband and I at its peak to celebrate our five year anniversary. I couldn’t have guessed the challenges those years would bring us, nor the emotion I’d feel as I looked out over the wide New Hampshire sky... boots on my feet and new diamond studs, gift from my husband, in my ears.

I brought just two pairs of shoes with me to New Zealand on my husband's and my trip there when I was 29; the boots made the cut. They served me well as we tromped along the Kepler Track.

A long hiatus at the back of my closet was the boot's fate in the years our four babies joined our family, one after the other. I couldn't have known how curtailed would be the freedom of trails (and travels) during those years. The boots' place deep in the wardrobe was uncontested and undisturbed for the five years we lived in California.

They traded to new closet space in our Virginia farmhouse when I was 36, and and they carried on hibernating several more years. At last they emerged on a cold Saturday, just after Thanksgiving, when the babysitter arrived and my husband and I set off toward Old Rag. They slid through 6 inches of snow but stayed true… ushering in new hope and promise on that grey November day.

They came out on Monday, their first appearance in our Crete chapter, carrying me the 11 miles down through Samaria Gorge as my husband walked beside.

My toes struck the front and bruised a bit as we descended through the miles, the first time that had ever happened. It seems my foot has changed shape across the years these boots have loyally served me. It’s only fair that they would; twenty-three years is after all a long time. More than half my life. They've carried me into terrain I'm been privileged to cross. They've shod me in the journey from teen to young woman, from single to bride to mother, from one continent to another, from home to new home and and new home again. The feet that fill them this week are the same and not the same as those tried them on years ago in a Massachusetts REI. So my time with them is up, but I don’t relish saying goodbye.

Would that I find friends so faithful in every area of my life. Would that my new boots may take me on as many travels, and through as many scenes of struggle and triumph. Would that adventure go on marking my years so faithfully, weaving an ongoing tapestry of memory and gratitude enduring longer than shoes ever could.

And would that I continue receiving grace and courage to keep walking it out with diligence, wonder, and joy.

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In Emotions, Greece Tags boots, hiking, mountaineering, adventure
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Hi! Susan here, writing from Greece about adventure (living it) and soul (wrestling it). On a journey to do both well. Thanks for joining!



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This coffee bar.
A lot of things happen here.
Free drinks are prepared for guests
Hands made of hospitality work the controls
And warm mugs of kindness are passed out.
-
Some offer a cup of cold water in His name; these people offer hot coffee.
And every week they come - to drink the coffee…
To take a shower. To charge their phones.
To wash their clothes. To pick up some new clothes. -
-
On the door sign: “Freely you have received, freely give.”
This what they do, day in and day out.
A rest stop for the weary. A modern-day watering hole.
-
Each week I leave inspired
To give as freely as they do. ☕️ -
#lovewell #justserve #faithjourney
The land is rocky, like it’s looking for the willing. The persevering. The sure-footed. 
Those that traverse her trails gain her tranquility... and her window seat onto the  beauty of the blue, blue Med. -
#greece #themed #wildandfreechildren #outsidefamily
In the early 1900’s, Scotland sent one of the first vessels down to Antarctica to explore and research. The ship was the RSS Discovery, and it sailed from Dundee with Captain Scott at the helm. -
-
Yesterday we visited the Discovery, now more than a century old, and studied these famous pioneers up close. It was a great spot for kids to catch the spirit, and to enact the bravery and adventures the explorers lived. -
-
And, bonus— dress-up included. -
#wildandfreechildren #liveyouradventure #travelwithkids #travelscotland
These two share a name (a name that means “light”), and too they share a contagious energy, a zeal for life. -
-
One of the absolute gifts in a traveling life is the chance to connect with dear ones in far-flung places... Often after many years apart. -
-
Until this week in Scotland, these two had never met. Now they are fast friends. And watching our old friends bond with our young children is a unique and precious joy. -
-
As reminisce with our friends about our times together and share stories about what God’s done in our years apart... His weaving through the fabric of our stories shows itself. In hints and strands. -
-
It’s so powerful. -
#travelingfamily #expatliving #tendthesoul #scotland_ig
Nearly 1,000 years ago this cathedral was built. And it’s construction took nearly 100 years. -
I first visited it when I was 21, a student for a year in the UK. Half my life ago... and yet a drop in the bucket for these ancient stones. -
And it didn’t fail me: it was as majestic, as moving today as it was then. 
I’m glad she got to see it.
-
-
#saintandrews #scotland #liveyouradventure #mothersofdaughters #instatravel #travelwithkids
Castle-dwellers. -
#stirlingcastle #scotland #travelscotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
You leave your beachside island home one evening, and the next morning you are walking across snow-laden heights in wintry Scotland. 
This is the wonder of the modern world, truly. 
#liveyouradventure #scottishhighlands #travelwithkids #snowkids
His body was broken for us,
His blood was poured out... Unto his death. 
But then—
He was dead no more. He rose!
And we with him. 
Hallelujah. 
#happyeaster
Surely He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows... The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. -
~Isaiah 53

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