Yesterday was Day 64 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge.

The night before last, I stubbed my right toe (second toe, next to big toe) when my foot accidentally rammed a dish of cat food into the floor board beneath the cabinet in the kitchen. My first mistake was that I had served the cats’ dinner on a clear glass plate. Because they had scarfed every morsel, the clear dish blended in with the hard wood floor, and I just didn’t see it. To make matters worse, I was barefoot.

My toe swelled up to twice its normal size and was numb for several hours. Since then,  there has been a dull, continuous pain near the base of my toe which makes it uncomfortable to walk.

By the time I decided to walk yesterday, the swelling had subsided somewhat and I could get my foot into a shoe. I decided to take Papa’s oft-repeated advice to “roll with the punches.” I took a couple of aspirin, waited for it to work, and then went for a walk. I only hobbled about two blocks before I had to turn around and come back. (It was the shortest “Papa Walk” to date.) When I got home, I put my foot up and iced it. That seemed to help.

Here’s the thing, I have always had bad feet. I was born with bunions on both feet. I had a bunionectomy when I was 17 years old. (If you’re not too squeamish, you can watch bunion surgery on YouTube.)

Having bad feet didn’t stop me from dancing (jazz and tap) in my teens and twenties. However, dancing took its toll on my feet, along with ill-fitting shoes (in my youth), and a clumsy penchant for stubbing my toes frequently. The hideousness mounts with ingrown toenails, callouses, and hammertoes. At this age, I think arthritis has settled in a few joints as well. All of this shinfo to say that I think it’s time to see a podiatrist so I can keep on doing the “Papa’s Walk Challenge” without foot pain.