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Column: Standing upright? Thank your good feet
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Great feet of strength and agility
Your feet are hard-working tools of your body.
What a great design they are. The heel-toe movement keeps you moving forward, and toe-heel moves you backward. They respond to the brain’s command to walk, run, jump, climb and dance — if you’ve trained them.
Think about how you learned to walk. Your legs began this skill. You discovered they would bend — even so far that you could put one of those things called toes in your mouth. The legs became strong enough to hold up your body. They followed the directions of the brain as you bent them ahead of your body.
But your feet? Your feet were flat little stubs that landed with thuds and sometimes even tripped you. It took a while to learn how to use those joints training them to go heel-toe, heel-toe. But once you learned, there was no stopping you. Oh, think of the places they’ve taken you. They became so well trained you didn’t even have to consciously command their movement — unless some part of the training was neglected.
The consequences of neglected foot training was a sad discovery for me around the age of 50. My mother had attended dances at the Chesley School House all her growing-up years. She loved to dance. My father was raised in a strict environment that taught dancing was a tool of the devil and he absolutely forbade me to learn to dance (even in P.E. classes) or attend any of the school dances. I loved music and always found my body automatically moving to the beat. All of me except my feet.
When I grew up, a fellow teacher at my school also taught line dancing. She offered classes for our staff after school on Friday nights. I thought, “Yes, here’s my chance to let my feet learn to dance.” Oh my! My feet and my brain were completely disconnected when it came to following steps and patterns. I don’t believe the one even knew the other existed. My feet had been programmed for so long, they found it impossible to learn anything new.
At home I practiced and practiced at night in front of my big picture window, completely oblivious to the fact the outside world could watch my faltering steps. After four months, all the line-dancing students except me were whooping it up in perfect rhythm, having a ball.
I quit. You may be able to teach an old dog new tricks but not old feet.
It certainly raised my foot awareness and made me ponder how important they are. If you lose even one of those little things called toes, you have to relearn how to balance and walk. All of us have stubbed a toe or dropped
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something on a foot. It’s a shocking reminder of how much we take our feet for granted. I found inspiration in reading “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk” by Ben Montgomery. What an amazing lady. She walked the Appalachian Trail three times, the Lewis Clark Trail from Missouri to Portland in 1959 and took many T H I N K I N G O U T L O U D short jaunts, all with gnarled toes and large bunions stuffed in tennis Sharon shoes. She began these treks at age Chase 67. She trained her feet well in the art Hoseley of walking. Awareness of those appendages at the end of our legs is more important than ever as we get older. When I walk for exercise, I repeat
“heel-toe, heel-toe ...” so they won’t forget their proper use. I don’t want to become a waddling, flat-footed penguin. When my feet swell from sitting too long at the computer, I walk, drink more water and put my feet up. I check them for sores and keep the toenails clipped.
I’ve even pulled out the foot bath I used while teaching. Their private sauna is followed by a lotion massage.
My feet say, “Ahhh. ” What are your feet saying to you? What do you need to do to keep them going? They’ve had a heavy load to carry all your life. Give them some special attention and thank them for their service. Chase Hoseley is a freelance writer and retired kindergarten teacher who lives in Clarkston. She can be reached at shoseley8@gmail.com.
