Aging and Aching Feet

I don’t bemoan my age much.  I love my life and pretty much like myself, too.

However, my feet have let me down. Or maybe I let them down.

Because they are out of condition.

My shoe envy was at the fore in my spare moments at the O You! conference.  Because the literature had said to wear comfortable shoes,  I had taken five pairs with me in my small carry-on suitcase.   That lets you know how important shoes are in my self-image. I needed choices and changes.

But I was surrounded by women in heels.  Some sported  heels so high as to be ridiculous and others heels were so high as to be delectable.  Some women wore spiffy flats and only a few were sensible and wore some commutation of sneakers.

For the cocktail party I wore my kitten heels.  But for the main event I wore my version of spiffy flats.  After all, I knew that it was a really long day after a really long walk and that I would spend hours in different lines.

Trouble is that my feet were out of practice.

They have become accustomed to sandals, my comfy slippers that are my constant in my house, and Asics that I wear for my walks.   My outside limit in real shoes is two to four hours.  Pathetic, isn’t it?

I mean, my spiffy sandals aren’t orthopedic old-lady shoes.  In fact, I got a compliment or two on them before I was limping, and then later following Oprah’s lead and walking barefoot.  These shoes are approved by my guru at Paradise Shoes.  They just outlived their usefulness on that particular day.

And I consider it my own fault.

Considering the killer heels I have worn in my past and the few pair I still have in my closet for 2-hour-and-under occasions, my feet aren’t my worst enemy in life.  It’s just that I have let them get out of practice.

If I want to continue my holdover life from middle school (when I was sure that EVERYONE was noticing my shoes), then I must do include-nice-shoe time in my daily schedule along with my meditation and yoga moves.

I need to keep my feet in shape.  And I don’t think that means pedicures and foot massages.  I think that means, “Buck up and get toughened up, you weaklings!”

Surely aging doesn’t mean leaving my coveted shoes behind.

xxoo