Monday, April 29, 2013

Foot Callouses As A Nod To Our Shared History As Women. Am I Reaching Here?

 We had a wonderful weekend.  The warm weather was so fabulous, we played sports, we entertained, we had family time, there was laughter...so much to love.  And while I sit here reflecting on our great time I do recall an awkward moment this weekend when Geoff walked in on me in the bathroom.

 A few days ago I thought I had a rock in my shoe.  It pained me, but I forged ahead anyway because we needed food. When I got home, I removed my cute pair of flats expecting to see some kind of stone, but nothing came out.  "That's odd," I thought to myself, then I caught a glimpse of the bottom of my foot, and what I saw was so disturbing I needed to sit down.  It was a quarter-sized callous on the pinkie-toe side.  I freaked out.  It looked like I was dangerously close to developing a cloven hoof.

I raced back to the grocery store to find something that would fix the problem, locating the foot care aisle immediately.  I never knew so many problems could befall our feet - Plantar warts, corns, hammer toes, fungus - it's a total nightmare.  As I perused the array of products designed to treat foot tragedies, I wanted to explain to people near me that I was just dealing with a callous and not something itchy or oozing.  I finally found Dr. Scholl's Exfoliating Foot File for Women.  It has become my new best friend.

When I got back home I ran upstairs to my bathroom, foot file in hand.  This is a very low tech product, so I was able to jump right in without wasting time reading directions.   Basically, you just rub the hard, nubbly stone on your feet and it breaks down any weird calloused part.  I couldn't believe that I could violently scrub the edge of my foot with this tool and not even feel it.  I kept rubbing and rubbing, eventually reaching normal skin again.  I was so relieved, but I noticed other parts of my foot appeared to be headed down the road to Callousville too.  Since I now wanted my feet to achieve maximum smoothness (and may have been experiencing trauma induced OCD), I'd add a little side trip to the bathroom when I could, and spend a few minutes filing my feet to supple perfection.  That's when Geoff walked in.

It's not the most attractive position to be found in, sitting on the edge of the bathtub filing the bottom of your feet.  As soon I saw him, I started explaining what had happened and informing him that the hoof had been avoided and now my feet were baby smooth.  He didn't seem surprised about my callous issue and noted he'd seen my feet before.  I guess I hadn't spent much time looking there, and maybe if I had, this would have been addressed earlier.  He didn't seem creeped out by my feet, but I think he appreciated the improvement.  

I asked to look at his feet and they looked perfect.  Like he never walked anywhere.  How is this possible?  Why no need for an Exfoliating File for Men?  Do they not callous?  Why women only?  I concluded that historically women were the ones in the fields harvesting, gathering, walking around the camps cooking for the tribes and caring for children, so our feet must have developed the ability to toughen up in order to make all these tasks more comfortable.  Hence, the occasional foot callous nowadays.  It's just part of our heritage as women.  Perhaps I should take some pride in my callouses.  On second thought, pride schmide - it's sandal season.  I'll just keep my foot file handy.

I'm wearing this today:


Since the snow is coming yet again, I've decided to fully immerse myself in summer whites.  I'm adding a splash of color with a scarf and a bag, and some texture with a gladiator sandal.  There you have it.

Panzanella in on deck for Meatless Monday today.  Here is a good recipe for it from Ina Garten.  Yum!

gratitude:  our golf outing yesterday, the smell of Coppertone sunscreen, patio planning, morning walks

thanks and love.

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