My quirky feet are happiest barefoot and second happiest in minimalist shoes that stay out of the way and let them do their own thing. Unfortunately, shoes that feel best on me tend to have minimal-to-no treads and my quirky heart is happiest out in the woods where treads come in handy. I spent a lot of money on trail shoes that were theoretically the right kind for my feet, but you know I wouldnât have described them that way if I enjoyed wearing them.
Tangent: Problems, even dull ones like ill-fitting shoes, are interesting to write and read aboutâpeaceful, satisfying serenity, less so. I havenât posted here for a while because I havenât had a lot to say. Life is good. Work is good. Yoga is good. Iâm enjoying time with my kids before our lives inevitably diverge. One of our cats is surprisingly good despite (true story) the vet saying his kidneys were shaped like potatoes. We already called him Potato, so maybe theyâre supposed to be that shape. The other cat is good. Though also, now that Iâm on the topic, a funny thing is that the awkward kidney cat has gotten scrawny (quite un-potato-like) and for reasons unknown, the other cat has become chunky. Itâs as if the universe has a designated mass of cat for our home and balance must be maintained. It fascinates me. Oooh, on the topic of fascinating, Iâm currently obsessed with Eckhart Tolle audiobooks. I get that heâs not for everyone, but his ideas resonate with me (heehee, thatâs a bit of a pun because he talks about the âhigh vibrational frequencyâ of your life force when youâre enlightenedâI love his vibe, lol). Okay, enough with the side notes. Back to the forest.
SO, I donât like that I wasted money on shoes that have great treads but limit my time on the trails because ouch. After a few slippery non-trail-shoe adventures, I let the sunk costs goâmay the barely worn shoes make someone at the womenâs shelter happyâand bought new ones.
My brand new shoes and I just scampered around for a couple of hours in deep mud, icy hills, and crusty snow-covered gullies. If youâve ever been there, you know Iâm describing Meadowlily Woods. I was beaming the entire time. Deep-in-the-soul joy shone out of me as I squished, climbed, and crunched. My feet were happy too. My bum was happy that I wasnât falling on it. My watch seemed less happy, making unhelpful comments as I slowly shimmied down a steep hill: âDid you stop? Do you want to pause your workout?â and again, a few careful steps later, âHow about now? Did you stop? Do you want to pause your workout? How about now? Are you still alive?â, but it helpfully told me at the end that I had climbed 114m. Letâs assume thatâs cumulative because I canât imagine thereâs any land here in flatsville that high. I expect that even Boler âMountainâ is lower, but now that I type that, I feel an urge to go hike around the trails there. I should probably clean my shoes first.
P.S. Note to self: Remember not to wear white socks next time.
P.P.S. Don’t the shoes look happy too?!?
