These Boots are made for walking !

       These Boots are made for walkin’

       The words from an old Nancy Sinatra song echoed through my head as I left the Doctor’s office this morning. It was the last day required for “wearing the boot.”  For seven full weeks, I had either lumbered along on crutches or thumped by wearing an enlarged form of a ski boot in recovering from some complicated foot surgery.

         And now, the good and capable Doctor had cut me loose. I could wear sneakers like every on else. Under her fine and skilled care, I had come back to a near normal functioning of my left foot. Thanks for that Doc. Now, I just have to learn to walk all over again. For seven weeks, I had assiduously kept any weight off of my left foot. The procedure had engendered in me an asymmetric gait of shambling along, a walk with a pronounced limp.

          Now, even unfettered, I evidenced a “mental limp” that I must learn to overcome. Still, I have no need for ski boots or crutches. Hoo freakin’ ray !  Hot damn, walking feels like fun. I didn’t go far today of course. I still am afraid of walking any length and doing some damage which might send me backward. But, that will change with walking greater and greater distances every day. And tomorrow, I get to ride a bike. Jesus, this is getting like Christmas frenzy for a small kid. Golf is still some weeks away, but all things come to pass in their proper order. And, I can hack up the grass, throw clubs in the lake and holler at the injustice of cruel fates at a later date this summer.

          It made me pause to think, as always, of the many things that we take for granted in life. For those differently abled. The restrictions of daily life imposed on them are a series of challenges to be mastered. Stairs, high curbs, stores without handi-capped parking, difficult seating arrangements and other obstacles make life much more challenging for them than it does for the rest of us. I now vow to appreciate more the little things in life, like walking unrestricted or being able to exercise any way I need or want to.

         And I of course will be vigilant in opening doors and doing other chores for people who are in need of help. In the political arena, we have already learned to help struggling older women across the street, even if they didn’t want to go there. So, I am ahead of the curve on some things!

        But mostly, I just want to enjoy walking down the street and appreciating the sights and sounds and sensory input denied me these last few months. It is really the small things in life that make it worth enjoying.

                                            -30-

                                      (475 words)

                                          May 11, 2015

                                     Joseph Xavier Martin