No Short Circuits for This Gal!

There's a fun event going on tonight and I can't wait to see a lot of old friends. It's a party for folks who lived in our part of town when we were all in high school and it's always well attended. It never disappoints and gets more and more fun each year. But there will be standing; lots of standing! No dancing; but standing around and reliving the "good old days." Standing around is very hard and painful for me. I could probably find a place to sit the whole time, but that's just not me. I have to mingle! I'll be "working the room" like a politician, making sure I find and hug every single person I know. And a few people I won't know until tonight. 


But if I want to enjoy myself I have to play by the "foot rules" that I've developed through the years. I have to try to "baby" my feet all day and get them ready for more standing and movement than they can normally handle. If I've had a bad foot day, then going to any event is out. I'd have to skip it all together. So I have to make sure that I have a good foot day today!


Before I begin to get ready, I'll ice my feet for at least an hour or two; propping them as high as I can to get the blood flowing away from them. I'll soak them in cool water after my bath because hot water wakes up all the nerves and really intensifies the pain. Heat expands. Cold contracts. I always have to keep those two rules of physics in mind when dealing with my feet.  The damaged nerves are like live wires and my job is to keep them from short-circuiting! 


The band-aids come next; careful not to cover my gorgeous red toenail polish. I'm a person one would refer to as a vain pain gal.  I deal with pain the best I can, but let it be known that I'm always concerned with how I look while doing it. While I don't wear high heels or any shoe I'd consider painful, I am very particular about what goes with what. The clothing I choose is dependent on what kind of shoes I can wear as much as on where I'm going. For tonight, I have a pair of well-worn MBT sandals that help to keep the weight off the balls of my feet. Not the best solution but as good as it gets. The soles are not nearly soft enough for me, but I can get by with them for a while. I'll alternate "working the room" with sitting and resting. If I can find a way to make an ice pack, there will be one under my feet as often as I can get it there.


The bandaging process is a tedious but important one. I bandage every toe usually susceptible to blistering or callouses; but not too tight in case my feet swell. Any place that the shoe might rub and make me uncomfortable will get attention. A grain of sand under my foot feels like a rock, so I have to make sure the insides of the sandals are smooth.  Obviously, my feet have to be wiped clean as well. After I go through the mental check list and the shoes are on, I check to make sure I have all the obvious problem spots taken care of. I stop long enough to say a prayer and ask God to help get me through whatever event I'm headed for.


At the party, I'll try not to get cornered in long conversations once my feet start hurting, which will probably be about ten minutes into the party. I'll make an excuse, find a chair and rest for a while. If I do get stuck in a conversation I can't get away from, or one I can't move to a place where I can sit, time to leave the party will come much quicker. I hate it when that happens, but it happens and I have to deal with it. I never have to remind my husband that if I give him "the look" that says "we have to leave NOW." He knows that it means NOW.

So I must get on with the job of babying my feet for the rest of the day; preparing for the big event. Maybe I'll see you there? If not, I'll let you know how the vain pain gal makes it through the party!