Christmas Shopping

At the end of October, I bought my first Christmas presents. Okay, I know, Christmas was still a few months away. But I was shopping for a birthday present and saw some things that caught my attention and decided it was time to get started. I shopped for a few hours, happy with my purchases. But that night, my feet woke me up about 1:00 am and I couldn’t go back to sleep for several hours. I thought, “Why are my feet hurting so badly?” And then I remembered – Christmas shopping! And that’s why I start early every year, even though Dave good-naturedly teases me about it. I can’t just get it all done in a few days because I my feet won’t let me have marathon shopping days. (I know, I can internet shop and I do – but some things I like to see for myself first.)

With PC feet, sure I can say I’ll tough out the pain to get things done. I often do. But I have to remember that I’ll do damage that’s going to affect my life for several days – and it will happen within the day, if not immediately after walking or standing. It will affect my sleep too, unfortunately. I’m also a mom of three active boys. I need to choose wisely which activities I plan to waste my feet on. Besides, I confess, it’s harder to be a happy, cheerful mom when my feet are so sore I can’t see straight.

When I was a child, I remember seeing a movie about a young girl with a disease that caused her pain when she walked. She wanted to be a runner and learned that if she made monster faces while she ran, she could work through the pain. I was so inspired by that movie. The next time there was a chance to run a race at school, I ran with all my heart, through the pain. But the little girl in the movie only dealt with the pain while she ran. She didn’t deal with oozing sores afterward and increased pain on top of the pain she normally felt. I think I was given a little dose of PC reality that day when the sores on my feet turned into a total mess as a result of my running. And when I realized I wasn’t going to be like that girl in the movie, I was very disappointed, to say the least.

But I’m not discouraged now. I just have to pace myself, even if my mind runs faster than my body. And besides, Christmas shopping for several months keeps me in the giving spirit longer than just a few days, right?