Tuesday, March 4, 2008

..two feet

To my knowledge no one has ever expounded on the wonder and versitility of two feet...

I, who have just spent four endless days with only one foot - Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday - regret that I am not a poet and, thus, unable to adequately praise such a gift; I regret all the times I have passed a wheelchair, walker bound person without giving thanks for two feet; I regret that I have taken two feet mostly for granted.

With two feet you can stand unassisted in the middle of a room, a park, a driveway, a sidewalk; with one foot, unless you are the Karate Kid, you fall on your face.

With two feet, standing tall, you can reach the stove, the sink, a table or the food in the frig; with one foot you are on the ground, knee level at best, where nothing, not even a toothbrush is available without some struggle.

With two feet you can stand in the shower or bend over a sink to wash your hair and even your armpits; with one foot you don't wash at all and you begin to smell a bit pungent.

With two feet bathroom privledges are taken for granted; with one foot a trip to the accomodation is an arduous ordeal and not to be embarked on lightly.

With two feet you are independent, invincible; with one foot people wait on you, are anxious for you and you are helpless.

This is day five.
This is Tuesday.
I have two feet.
I am a happy woman.