Hopping Mad

Inspirational song: Frogs (Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince)

I stuck to my promise today. I went in to have my foot X-rayed, and talked it over with the doc. There is no fracture down by the toes, but that doesn't mean there is no trouble. Not only did I have some kind of jarring injury to the soft tissue at the base of my toes, apparently because of the bone spur on my heel that was quite visible on the films, I have been pushing all my weight onto the balls of my feet, which irritated the toes further. The very first time I met this doctor, two years ago, I told him how badly the soles of my feet had been hurting, but I had other priorities, including spending as little time at the clinic as possible, until everything came crashing down in January. Now that he and I are back together, I guess time has run out for ignoring my feet. The first thing he told me to do is rush out and replace my primary shoes, both the sneakers for the gym, and the sandals that are my go-to shoes. He also said I am not to go barefoot as often as I usually do. Not go barefoot? Is he punishing me? He did just send me shoe-shopping, so maybe it's not all bad.

I was allowed to go back to water aerobics, but I've been instructed to wear water shoes and stay in the deep end, rather than walking to the shallows like we do during warmups. I tried to pace myself, and jogged as little as possible. Instead I just hopped on one foot, and worked my arms harder to make up for it. I felt very conspicuous with my modifications, but I stuck it out and will keep going back. 

It's been a good twenty-four hours for animals around the Park. Last night, right before bed, I noticed an odd white blob on the back door. Closer inspection revealed a little frog who was so kind to come along and snack on the bugs congregating near my porch light. He was maybe two inches long, and cute as can be. And then today, as I came home from the doctor, there were a bunch of baby ducks following their mommy down my street. Mommy let me take plenty of pictures, until I got closer than about eight feet away. Then she hissed at me and asked me to back off. Yes, ma'am.