Not a big walk, or a Nordic Walk, but the chance to cream my feet and give them a foot massage, paint my nails, take out my sandals, and use two walks to and at work to give my sandals the first outing for the year. First, yesterday with my rigid stiff Reva sandals, and today with my more flexible leather sandals, bought both more than … it must be 18 years now, bought before the birth of my son.
I realized I have neglected my feet, maybe for decades. I walked with them; I did exercise; but I did not consciously care for them, not like my hands, or my face, or my hair.
A thankful set of feet they have proven to be. They have carried me so far. But they also have been on a health journey that mirrored my whole body’s journey.
As a child, I know I broke my little toes simply by playing and climbing, and running. We did go to the hospital and just got sent back. Nothing to be done for little broken toes, it seems. At least in those days.
In my 20s , I hiked for days and backpacked for weeks. Meindl boots, rigid, protective, enclosing my feet in thick, hard leather. And this was also when I often wore sandals in the summers, but that stopped at some point.
My feet struggled when I got pregnant, and the arches of my feet couldn’t take the weight anymore. I started wearing only shoes with good arch support, and that remained a need for my feet’s health for the next 15 years at least.
It got slowly better, but sandals were only brought out for short walks, too short for my arches to act up. Or for summer evenings in our garden. But not for longer walks.
And then, two years ago, I started running, or rather Japanese Slow Jogging. Slowly my feet got stronger as I worked my way through Couch to 5k. End of last year in 2021, I was running a weekly 10k.
So here I am, two years later, and my feet and arches are better than they’ve been for a long time. And I’m exploring the joy of walking again.
And the leather sandals I wore today, I swear they feel a tad bit larger than they did before. When bought, they had been on the small side, but now they fit perfectly. And I remembered the various posts on these forums, tales that running was lifting the arch and runners finding they needed a smaller size of shoes.
It was great walking today in my flexible leather sandals, feeling the sunshine on my toes. No photo, for now, but just the very elementary sense of appreciating my feet as I walk.
Thank you, feet!
So have you been thankful for your feet lately, and have you brought out your sandals yet?
Happy walking, everyone.
