"First Hike"

     There have already been many "firsts" without Bob's presence, and today was another one.  It was my first time to hike again the trail that became one of our favorites because it was close to town yet on a mountainside.  The last time we hiked that trail, over a year ago, Bob fell twice.  After that, I was afraid to take him on any mountain hikes unless they were on wide (two-track) paths with no chance of falling over the edge.  This morning, Esperanza invited me to join her on it.  It felt good to be there again and brought back many happy memories of hiking it with Bob, and also with her and the grand kids along a couple of times.  It also felt good to exert myself so much again.  It's been a long time since I've been able to challenge myself as much; I had scaled back to whatever worked for Bob.