If you had have asked me 5 years ago what I would want to be doing right now, I honestly never would have banked on the fact that I'd be walking around barefoot as part of that plan.
Certainly, Vancouver is not a city where you want to walk barefoot. It's even dangerous on the beach.
Remember when you were little?
It almost seemed you could walk on glass!
You did everything barefoot and all those little rocks that jabbed into the arch of your foot never even phased you! You just kept running.
It felt cool on your feet and the feeling of the earth beneath you gave you energy.
The feeling of mud between your toes was extravagant as you watched it fill the crevices between your digits, then up over the knuckle, then finally your toenails would disappear.
It's so much easier to walk barefoot here, because the sand just gets in your flip-flops anyway.
Then it grates along your skin.
At least when you're on the true ground, it feels soft and doesn't feel like sandpaper waring away the years of callouses on the soles of your feet.
There are no intravenous drug users in my village, I don't have to worry about needles, or broken glass from drunks who like to smash their bottles in a fit of alcoholism.
However, I do have to worry about the neighbourhood drunk. At least there's only one: Mr. Gummy. He touches me again like he did yesterday, he's not going to have a friend anymore. And, no, Mr. Gummy. I'm not giving you money for more beer. Go sleep it off.
Other than Mr. Gummy, the most I have to worry about when I walk shoeless are land mines from the dogs.
Those bonus dumps from The Donkey wouldn't feel too sexy between my toes.
This morning, as I tried to chase down the lettuce man to no avail, I realized that I walk barefoot more than I walk in shoes.
My feet are adjusting.
They seem stronger.
They seem as though they hold me more stable.
I still wobble about, but I can correct myself much faster.
Dirt under feet.
It feels so good.
Who knew I was missing this in my life?
I never knew what I was missing.
Today, Papi and I are supposed to go play in the the water at Sosúa Beach. It's our day.
We were going to try for yesterday, but the water wasn't working again, and we had to wait for my Plumber Friend to come fix it.
Apparently, we're supposed to 'jiggle this little thing right here'.
Yeah.
We missed out on our beach day to find out we had to jiggle something.
We have to go today, because it did so much for us last week.
This is the month they say that the water calms down at our house.
When it calms down, we won't have to go too far to float and be grateful for the beauty.
Those waves today?
They do NOT look like they're calming.
I'm listening to them right now.
It almost sounds like a storm outside, but it's just waves crashing.
Last night, I heard my first thunder here!
I love thunder. It's so beautiful to me, and May is supposed to be storm month. I just might get a lot of thunder love in this month.
All of this beauty of nature is the first thing I need to put on my list of new things that make me happy.
The New Life List.
Much different than that of Vancouver.
New life.
New ways to find happiness.
Dirt under feet.
Certainly, Vancouver is not a city where you want to walk barefoot. It's even dangerous on the beach.
Remember when you were little?
It almost seemed you could walk on glass!
You did everything barefoot and all those little rocks that jabbed into the arch of your foot never even phased you! You just kept running.
It felt cool on your feet and the feeling of the earth beneath you gave you energy.
The feeling of mud between your toes was extravagant as you watched it fill the crevices between your digits, then up over the knuckle, then finally your toenails would disappear.
It's so much easier to walk barefoot here, because the sand just gets in your flip-flops anyway.
Then it grates along your skin.
At least when you're on the true ground, it feels soft and doesn't feel like sandpaper waring away the years of callouses on the soles of your feet.
There are no intravenous drug users in my village, I don't have to worry about needles, or broken glass from drunks who like to smash their bottles in a fit of alcoholism.
However, I do have to worry about the neighbourhood drunk. At least there's only one: Mr. Gummy. He touches me again like he did yesterday, he's not going to have a friend anymore. And, no, Mr. Gummy. I'm not giving you money for more beer. Go sleep it off.
Other than Mr. Gummy, the most I have to worry about when I walk shoeless are land mines from the dogs.
Those bonus dumps from The Donkey wouldn't feel too sexy between my toes.
This morning, as I tried to chase down the lettuce man to no avail, I realized that I walk barefoot more than I walk in shoes.
My feet are adjusting.
They seem stronger.
They seem as though they hold me more stable.
I still wobble about, but I can correct myself much faster.
Dirt under feet.
It feels so good.
Who knew I was missing this in my life?
I never knew what I was missing.
Today, Papi and I are supposed to go play in the the water at Sosúa Beach. It's our day.
We were going to try for yesterday, but the water wasn't working again, and we had to wait for my Plumber Friend to come fix it.
Apparently, we're supposed to 'jiggle this little thing right here'.
Yeah.
We missed out on our beach day to find out we had to jiggle something.
We have to go today, because it did so much for us last week.
This is the month they say that the water calms down at our house.
When it calms down, we won't have to go too far to float and be grateful for the beauty.
Those waves today?
They do NOT look like they're calming.
I'm listening to them right now.
It almost sounds like a storm outside, but it's just waves crashing.
Last night, I heard my first thunder here!
I love thunder. It's so beautiful to me, and May is supposed to be storm month. I just might get a lot of thunder love in this month.
All of this beauty of nature is the first thing I need to put on my list of new things that make me happy.
The New Life List.
Much different than that of Vancouver.
New life.
New ways to find happiness.
Dirt under feet.
i attempt all possible ways to get unstuck
Michael Franti (who IS the band. Spearhead) says he hasn't worn shoes for years. He owns some sandals, which are necessary for some restaurants and, you know, airports and such.
ReplyDeleteHe says it changed his life.
Downtown Houston is not the sort of place where it's an option, sadly, but I'm glad there are people out there who are able to break free of their shoes!
it's pretty amazing! i brought so many with me and they haven't seen the light of day. i may just want to get rid of most of them. they're just taking up space now.
Deletejust need something for the city and restaurants, like you say.
I used to love walking barefoot when I was a kid, and I absolutely loved the feeling of squishey mud between my toes :) thanks for the memory, I have the biggest urge to find me some mud xxx
ReplyDeletedo it! find the mud! i did it today and it felt good.
ReplyDelete