I am a self-confessed Hermit who has to remind herself to say yes to people, adventure, and life. It snowed a little last night (for the first time in 2 years), so it was especially tempting to stay curled up in front of the fire all day, well away from slushy roads and cold winds. Let me reiterate, it snowed a little. Just enough to provide a light dusting on trees and shrubs, and a layer of mucky slush on the roads, just enough to remind me that I don’t really have appropriate snow clothes.

I only battled with myself for a few minutes when a friend called to ask me to join her and her little boy on a walk along the seafront. I’m learning that when I say yes to adventure, I inevitably have fun — and today was no exception.

The snow was all but gone by midmorning, but the wind coming was still frigid as we walked along the sea wall, past the Crowstone, the obelisk that marks the end of the Port of London’s authority on the River Thames, and the beginning of the North Sea. Even in grey weather, it is mesmerizing to watch the the estuary shift and change with the tides.