Safety boots

Ok, I'll reluctantly admit that spring is, well, springing. Even though today's pointless photo isn't a recent one, it gives the basic idea of what can be seen out there. Or at least it would if you leave out the greenery. We're not quite that far yet.

It's spring enough, though, that I can't breathe... oh, wait. That's not what I want to post about. If I start the whinge it'll keep going and going and going until it earns itself floppy ears and an annoying bass drum. Let's start over, then.

It's spring enough that the deadly parking lot ice patches have disappeared, and even most of the snow piles from a winter's worth of clearing those same parking lots are headed to oblivion. Why then, Dee, are you still wearing your winter boots?

I'm glad you asked that question.

Or at least I'm assuming that you would have asked that question. You know, if you were in the office right now and could see that I'm still wearing my winter boots.

Normally I wear my winter boots (and I should say here that we're talking about winter mocs rather than full-on boots. It's a little less weird to still be wearing them when you realise that they're basically glorified winterised shoes) until every last possibility of ice has passed, because I frankly have terrible balance and need all the help I can get. Switching to normal shoes a bit too early is just a recipe for injury in my case.

That would be the normal reason. The problem with that reason this year is that the ice is gone.

Yes, given the general crappiness of Alberta's spring weather there's a possibility it might be back, but as things stand now I'd be perfectly safe in street shoes.

The problem is that I'd also be in pain, and I'm avoiding that for as long as possible.

Ah yes, the fun of the bad ankle rears its ugly head again.

For those new to the program, the short version of a long, boring story is that I wrecked one of my ankles back in junior high and it's been a bother ever since. It's weak, it reinjures easily, and it almost always causes me pain. Pain that, for the most part, I'm used to and can ignore, but it's there all the same.

It gets worse in the spring, and for years I couldn't figure out why.

I thought at first it was just because a person tends to be more active when the weather gets nicer, but that didn't seem to ring true somehow. I tried out a whole lot of other possible theories, but the one that finally stuck was the boots.

My ankle hurts more when I give up the boots for the season.

It makes sense, when you think about it. Boots (properly constructed boots, that is) are always going to give better support than shoes. Always. And I wear pretty good shoes. I have to, or there's even more pain to deal with.

But even switching to good shoes means less support for the ankle, and the ankle gets lazy over the winter. Less support, muscles that have been used to letting boots do part of their job... it all leads to a couple of weeks of aching that I'm really just not looking forward to.

So, I'm still in the boots.

Came really close to putting on my shoes instead when I left for work today, but I'm still in the boots.

Can boots count as a security blanket?

Ah well, some time in the next few days I'll probably convince myself to suck it up and just get the transition over with. No, really. I will.

Sigh.





I think I'll miss the boots, though...