Tuesday, April 14, 2009

No Pedi for Me

I had planned to have a once-every-five-years splurge of a pedicure a couple of days before we left on our trip, since I'll be Teva-ing through Orlando. Luckily, I happened upon a thread from more experienced Disney-ites. Non, non, said they. Never get a pedicure right before your trip, they file away your calluses, making your feet butter soft and oh so tender.

Not what you want when you'll be walking all day, every day, for 7 days.

It's an interesting way to think about those calluses. You worked for them, you earned them, and they will offer you some protection from blisters.

I play guitar, so this is an easy concept for me. Once you have those calluses built up on your fingertips, you can pick all night long. But if you haven't been playing in a while ... ouch. Those calluses are treated with reverence. Some folks even use a special finger exerciser, ridged for your non-comfort, to keep their calluses thick.

I won't go into all the metaphors -- it's obvious, and you can draw your own conclusions, as to whether its good to have calluses on your soul, if they make you stronger, or if it is better to be callus-free, and tender.

No metaphor is perfect. By all rights, my soul should be callused, and I should have some protection from the stories that just keep coming, the stories of heartbreak and pain. But I don't. I'm probably more vulnerable than ever.

But I know that I can survive way more than I thought I could. Even with a heart broken and bleeding, I can pick all through the long night. Maybe that's my callus.

3 comments:

Christine Robinson said...

Calluses or not, what you need at the Kingdom of Magic is your very best, most supportive, walking shoes. It took my feet a year to recover from my week there, the first couple of days of which I wore cute little sneakers.

'cause, good times or bad, we all need good support....

C.

Stephanie said...

Yeah, that pavement is hard!

Anonymous said...

I ran across your page while I was searching for the same thing ... feeling guilty on a MAW trip for my little one. My daughter is 3 1/2 and has congential heart disease and had one open heart, 2 caths and is scheduled for her second open heart in May. I look at her as if nothing is wrong, to me and anyone else, she is a normal child and I feel so guilty for accepting the trip now that it is time to going .. we leave on Wed. I don't know, I look at her as healty and what about kids that are not, and I also think we will get her there ... one day just not now. I'm trying to find that place of being okay and excited with it again. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alonei n that feeling.

Heather
hjn914@htc.net