When does old age start? Anyone know? I think it might be at my back door. Why? Well......why else would I be falling and such? Or...could Cliff be right? 'It's all about the shoes'.
On the trail run at Huntington the other day, I twisted an ankle. It wasn't bad, but enough to make me acutely aware of every step I took. Twisting an ankle on a trail run is probably par for the course. You know, because of the terrain and all....roots and holes covered by pine straw. I'm not the only one to ever twist an ankle on a trail run. Again, it was not bad. It doesn't even hurt. But, when you start adding up all the little incidents like that, one might start wondering. Am I getting old and feeble? Is this how it starts?
Just last night, Cliff had taken Lidia and Sawyer to the indoor pool at Lakewood and I decided to walk down there a little later. My "acute awareness of every step I take" was still on high alert. I had a few steps to walk down in the dark and it had been raining, so the steps were damp, if not slippery. Again, I was acutely aware of this. So I started traversing the steps slowly. I got to the bottom and the whole earth just dropped out from beneath me or so it felt. I had missed the last step and couldn't feel where to put my foot. I caught myself falling forward and quickly grabbed for the rail and lunged backwards. When I did, my legs bent into a very deep squat and I twisted my right knee, fell on my bum and scraped the heck out of my arm on the rail. And, the tips of my fingers grabbed something so fiercely that it has left them partially numb. I came inside and pulled myself together. Nurse Emily, our daughter, checked me out and nothing was broken. So I stood and everything was working properly. Once again, even more acutely aware of my surroundings, I left for the pool again.
This time, I turned the porch light on. Ha!
See?
The mind might be going, too. Why didn't I do that in the first place? Million dollar question!
Anyway, with the light on, I could see where to step and I took off down the pitch black road with dips and water puddles from the rain. I was so alert, by this time, that I saw every stick and pebble.
When I got to the pool, I told Cliff about me falling and after checking to see that I was alright, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Well, if you would wear real shoes....".
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Men! So the rest of the conversation went like this:
Me: It was not the shoes, I missed a whole step.
Cliff: But still, your shoes are like high heels. Start wearing something that the heel is wider than your foot.
Me: I walk just fine in these shoes.
Cliff: If you're starting to fall, I'm going to have to put you in a wheelchair.
Me: HaHa! Or just get me one of those walkers with the tennis balls on the bottom.
Cliff: Just get yourself some real shoes!
Old or not, real shoes or not.......
I'll be back soon,
Laurie
