But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this.

Galatians 5:22-23

Today – Wednesday – I’m going to share a good retirement story.

I have written a lot about the difficulty of letting go, changing long-practiced routines, and establishing new rhythms, especially in light of the fact that my parents’ situation keeps me so close to home. But there are many moments of serendipity and they happen every day – if only I keep my eyes open and pay attention.

So Rebekah and I went out for a date-night and enjoyed a beautiful evening together.

We started at one of our favorite local eateries, Over the Falls. Their chicken wings are amazing, I had the Big Kahuna pizza, and we finished with authentic Key Lime pie.

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The story:

Then – and this is the good story – we headed over to Rack Room Shoes.

Typically, shoe shopping for Rebekah means trying to find comfortable yet dressy footwear for work. She has been dressing professionally for forty years, and I have helped in multiple searches for pumps. Blue. Black. Tan. Mostly black. Plain, or on occasion subtly patterned. I believe Rebekah may have purchased enough Naturalizer size 7 pumps over the years to be considered indispensable to the company’s business model.

But not this time!

Rebekah offered maybe half of a sideways glance at the “business footwear” aisle before heading directly to the hiking section. Or, as she put it, “The gardening shoes.”

Joy, it turns out, means not only good food but comfortable footwear.

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We took pictures so the Miami fashionistas could weigh in.

“I don’t know what it was that made yesterday evening so wonderful,” Rebekah said this morning.

I do. It wasn’t just being together – although that is always the absolute best. I think it was buying gardening shoes instead of pumps.

Peace – DEREK