My youngest daughter is very active in Special Olympics. Right now we are in softball and golf season. Needless to say, there have been some distraught coaches, recently, when my daughter began having trouble hitting the ball. Both! Softball *and* golf ball.
This wouldn’t be a problem, per se, because we strive for improvement, not perfection, in Special Olympics. But my daughter hadn’t had this problem last year. Or the year before that. Etc. So everyone wanted to know… “What gives??”
If last practice is to be believed… it was tennis shoes that were too tight. Although mom had repeatedly asked her about the shoes her dad bought her (without her being present)…she had assured me “they’re FINE!!!” “Mom….they FIT, okaaaayyyyyy!!!??”
We are trying to streamline the “back and forth” process for her transitioning, weekly, from one home to the other. So this past week, we decided to go buy her another pair of tennis shoes so she can have a pair at each home. So, off we went… in search of that awesome pair of tennis shoes, without an awesome price tag.
We found a clearance pair (hallelujah!), which she wore to golf practice Monday. The results were nothing short of amazing. It turns out, all those coaching admonitions for her to “put her weight more forward on her feet” (both sports) were not going to happen in tennies that were too tight.
We had missed this simple, but critical, factor. Sometimes your “swing” in life isn’t about your arms …or the club …or bat.
In looking at my situation this week, facing my problems head on, I have elected to start at the proverbial bottom. Am I taking care of my “feet?” In other words… am I well grounded? Am I practicing healthy spiritual, physical and emotional habits which give me foundation and balance? Am I doing those things which will help me put my weight more forward, and result in a better “swing” ????
How about you? ….do you have any too tight tennis shoes that you might be overlooking?
I recently purchased a new pair of walking shoes and they are sooo comfy–but I never realized that my others weren’t that comfortable until I had the contrast of the new ones. Sometimes we just get used to what we have when maybe we should want something that is a better fit, or better for us. Thank you for the thought-provoking post. ~ Lily
Thank ~you~ Lily, for stopping by. What you wrote is so true in my life. I was raised not to complain, to make the best of whatever, and to be grateful. I’ve had to dismantle the belief I had somehow adapted, from that upbringing, that to want and strive for something different, or something that is better for me, is to be ungrateful for that which I already have. Thanks for posting your reply.
It is always good to check in on ‘our feet’ to make sure we are stepping in to places we should be…lol!
I enjoyed reading your adventures in getting to this ‘am i well grounded’ reflection.