SHOES

AAugh! I just paid $250 for shoes, and they're not even pretty! I'm not sure what happened, I took the truck into the shop for an A/C fix. Then, I think I walked across the street to the shoe store, and the owner started measuring my feet, then telling me what I needed. He explained how my feet have grown, my arches have fallen, and showed me the ugliest sandals I've ever seen. I felt like I was just cruising to 80 instead of my mid 50's, and kept looking longingly to a pair of cute sandals on a nearby stand.

After I tried on the ugly sandals, yes, they were comfortable but eeww! So then he sprung the trap, he pulled a pair of cool tennies out of the box, slipped a pair of arch supports into the sole, and put them on my feet. I stood up, walked around, and oh my heavens.... I realized I couldn't take them off. I tried to figure out how to walk out of the store in them. They are shiny, which is good, and have air conditioning fabric, and now I have to walk every day to justify buying them. Yes, I bought them without any hesitation! What was I thinking??? Oh yeah, that it was the most comfortable my feet have been in years. Well, off to my very expensive walk!

Back to the Grind

OK, OK, I really don't have much of a grind, I don't have to be at work at 8 a.m. any more, no dealing with irate attorneys, explaining to judges about what is happening with probationers, fielding a myriad of phone calls. I don' t have to tell a probationer to 'drop a UA' (yes, I did that at least once a week), get a job, go back to court. It's not that kind of grind... but laundry, cleaning the kitchen, feeding the dogs, creating a life without work can still be a grind. Trying to figure out a daily routine without a job is weird. I know, I haven't worked for four years now, but I still haven't figured out a routine. I do manage to sleep every day, that's just a necessity of my life. Sometimes it's a quick nap, other days it's a couple hours in the morning, another in the afternoon. Some might think that's luxurious, I know I used to dream about getting enough sleep, but I'd rather be working, or sewing, hiking, etc.

One of the reasons I love to knit is that I can accomplish something every day, even if I can only sit in my recliner and knit. I don't like being useless, and for many years, the fibromyalgia has given me the sense that I can't do very much. I've been so tired for the past 20 years, it was an effort to get out of bed, and yet I worked, held leadership positions, raised 3 kid, loved my husband and tried to be a good friend. I haven't always done them well, but I've given it my best effort. It's nice to be able to take better care of myself the last few years, but I still hate to be tied down to my physical reality. Yet, there are so many people that have it worse, I can't complain. I'm very blessed, I have a great husband, children, home, friends and family. I love them, and thank God every day.

We spent the weekend at Mom's place, south of Maricopa. Saturday David and Nic finished the duct-work for the cooler, then we had dinner at Hap's. He and Sandy are amazing cooks, and have built an outside kitchen! They got Tyde an above-ground swimming pool for his birthday, and it's right next to the kitchen, so they can cook, socialize, and watch the kids in the pool. Hap had caught Sea Bass last weekend in Mexico, and grilled it, along with homemade sausage. Debbie and Kim came over, so it was a nice family party, except Allison and Eric couldn't be there. One of these days they plan to move to AZ, I can't wait, I miss her so much. It was a great family get-together, and Mom's cooler works really well. It's already 103 degrees there, so she's pretty happy to have it all put together. All in all, a very nice weekend!