The Problem With Feet

In the therapeutic and reflective writing class I’m in, we were asked to write a story in the 3rd person. Further, we were asked to keep it to 3,000 or fewer words.

Now, anyone who knows me, might find it difficult to imagine that I can keep my stories short - and yet, I’ve been working on it. It helps to use a timer to keep the time short - I wrote this piece in about 20 minutes. I also tapped a round just to lower my stress levels, calm my mind and get out of my head.

Had someone told me a couple of years ago that I could think of a topic and write about it within such a short time, I wouldn’t have believed them.

But this is the power of reflective writing - and combining it with Tapping or something that gets you into a calm, open, grounded place like Tapping is even more powerful.

So, here’s my story about a woman and her “…Problem With Feet”. Can you guess who she is in real life?

The Problem With Feet

Her feet had always been a problem.  From the time she could remember, she’d struggled to find shoes that fit properly and gave her the comfort shoes should.  It felt amazing when she could walk out of a shoe store, shoes in hand, feeling confident that they were the right ones. 

It had been mortifying to wear Wallabee shoes as a teenager – no one else seemed to have the struggles she had with feet and NO ONE her age wore Wallabees.  At 16, her best friend convinced her to buy a pair of wedges which were all the rage at that time.  Not only were they trendy but for shorter bodies, the extra height felt amazing. 

It was a moment of weakness and a deep desire to fit in – at least once – that she agreed, knowing in her heart of hearts that wearing them was wishful thinking.  She practiced walking up and down the hallway but alas, a short fall and a sore foot and ankle, again sent her back to those ugly, but comfortable, Wallabees. 

The conflict about what to wear on her feet followed her through the years.  No matter how beautifully she dressed to go out on the town, a special event, or to work, shoes were her nemesis.  

As time zipped by, and the older she got, she found herself shopping for comfort and cared less and less about the looks.  Runners became her go-to shoes – she could wear them almost anywhere and sometimes wore them to special events, without another thought. 

No longer did she have to go into a shop and try shoe after shoe on or apologize umpteen times to the clerk for being such a nuisance.  She could order online!  If the shoes didn’t fit, she’d return them quietly and without fuss.  It felt like a miracle! 

The issue of shoes and her feet haven’t changed but somehow, she noticed it’s easier.  Perhaps it’s that as she ages, she appreciates her feet more for all that they do for her.  Perhaps it’s that she feels less of the social pressure she felt so fiercely many years ago.  Or, perhaps it’s that she really doesn’t care what others think now that she’s of an age when comfort over vanity trumps it all. 

Thanks for reading my story!

Joan