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Coming towards us was an old woman, likely in her seventies. She made her cautious way towards us and I tried to keep Ted off to the side of the puddle so she had room to pass without walking in the mud/water.
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When she reached us she stopped and looked down at Ted and said "that looks fun, doesn't it?". Without hesitation, she stepped off the path into the puddle and splashed along with him all the way through it. She was only wearing normal leather shoes and her trousers were soaked.
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Ted happily splashed along with her until he found an exciting stick or something, and she waved and carried on down the path. Meanwhile I looked on, fretting now about *two* vulnerable people catching colds due to cold/wet feet.
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I think about that little encounter a lot - what a brilliant, kind-hearted woman she was. I hope her feet dried quickly and I hope I can copy some of her sheer exuberance for life and other people.
