Look at ’em, y’all. My first pair of “for real” hiking shoes. This might not seem like a big deal to some of you but it’s a big deal to me. I AM SUPER EXCITED. Here’s why:
1 – They don’t hurt my feet.
I’ve been getting more into walking/hiking lately. I’ve been exploring the woods behind our house and taking walks with Nick. In the last 4 days, Nick and I have walked approx. 13 miles.
I’ve always been into walking. Back in the 90’s, as a little teeny weeny, I used to walk for hours at a time to relieve boredom. (This was before netflix and social media, back when the internet was basically geocities.) And when Nick and I started dating and we had no 💰 we walked everywhere, for hours, just talking. When my kids were still little enough to fit into baby carriers and strollers I took them for a walk almost everyday.
For me, walking just makes sense. It relaxes me. And if I’m going to get back into walking a lot, I’m excited to have footwear that cradles my feet rather than strangles them.
2 – I’d love to become a serious hiker someday.
I have visions of strapping on a pack and heading out on the trail, hiking and camping for days at a time. But I’m nowhere near ready for that. Not even a little. Not even a teeny tiny bit. But I’ve got to start somewhere. So I’m reading, walking more, trying to learn and building stamina. That is why I’m excited to have good shoes to get me started in the right direction.
3 – I don’t spend money on myself.
I’m famously bad at it. But I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve found that a lot of women, especially (but not exclusively) mothers, have a hard time spending money on themselves. There is always something that the kids need or the house needs or the husband needs. Like most women I know, I am last on my list of people that need my care.
So I rarely spend money on myself and I never buy expensive footwear for myself. (That’s why I “let” Nick buy these for me.) But if I’m really going to get into hiking like I keep saying, having good footwear is a must. I’m excited to have a pair of expensive shoes for once, even if I didn’t buy them.
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Immediately after buying them, Nick and I went for a 3.5 mile walk bringing our total for the last 4 days up to 13.4 miles. That may not seem like a lot to some of you but it’s a lot for 2 couch potatoes just getting back into exercising.
And you know what was awesome? After our walk, my feet weren’t completely destroyed like they usually are. So that was pretty exciting.
Plus, they’re purple.
For some reason The Fam and I were sleeping in an old wooden chapel in sleeping bags. It was kinda awesome actually. Very cathartic.
The next intruders were two men I’ve known for a long time who just needed to use the bathroom to shave. Sorry, we’ll make it quick. “Um…..” I just want to finish taking my shower, people.
It’s the next day. I still haven’t showered. I walk up to the little convenience store that looks like something you’d see in an old western and find a crowd standing around watching as some woman I’ve never seen authorizes it’s destruction. I stand there in my bathrobe.
We’re heading down the road toward safety, when just up ahead of us, past a big, red barn, standing in the road, is a huge bear staring right at us. We back up and start to turn around but there is another bear in the road behind us now. To the right are trees and possibly more bears and to the left is the barn. We decide to go around the barn, hoping that giving the bear space it will leave us alone.
“Come on,” I scream to everyone, “Kill it!” I’m terrified that any second the bear will recover and strike again. But the rest of the people who’d gone on the hike are all frozen in fear. The Lady steps up wielding a crossbow. Where did she get a flipping crossbow and why hasn’t she used it yet??? She aims at the bear but never fires.
Every Day Bonnie 