Jared Diamond Books

At the age of 21, I’ve torn my ACL twice. Well, I had actually torn them both by 20 but I’m 21 now so I feel like it makes sense to say 21. I don’t know. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that I’ve gone through some serious setbacks and because of them I haven’t been able to do everything I wanted to do. 

But, after four years of rehab, I have finally been able to start long-distance running again. I can only run in a straight line and can’t make any short movements in order not to destroy my ACL for the third time. I’ve set the goal to be able to run a half marathon in six months time. I’ve always been a relatively good runner and overall fit person, so with enough practice, I should be able to run a half marathon pretty easily. 

I went on my second run yesterday and my goal was to run 5km. I ended up running 12km and I only stopped because if I kept running I was going to be late to hang out with the boys. I could’ve kept running very easily. 

Now that my body has cooled down, my feet are in absolute agony. I may have worked them too hard, because now I feel like I have Plantar Fasciitis or some horrible foot condition like that. I read that doing too much of the same repetitive movement on your feet can be really damaging to them. I’m guessing now that running over double my goal without a break could be detrimental to the health of my feet. I’ll admit, I’m a bit concerned.

I’m going to book an appointment and speak to the local foot specialist in the Cheltenham area to see what can be done about my feet. I’m no stranger to medical procedures, especially on the lower half of my body. Hopefully, there can be some sort of quick fix for this because I want to get back to running again.

If anyone is going to make you paranoid, it is your in-laws. I’ve never noticed anything strange about any of the kids. Sure, my daughter picks her nose and eats it sometimes but beyond that I haven’t noticed anything odd. Even the nose-picking can be argued as normal. Then the other day my mother-in-law, who I like to refer to as the ‘dragon’, suddenly turned around and mentioned that my son’s legs are bowed. I corrected her and said they’re not and he’s simply going through an awkward stage crossing over from toddler to child. She then snapped back and told me that it’d be wise to send him to the childrens’ orthotics specialist near Cheltenham so he can be properly examined before he turns out like me. Not only did she insult my son but she insulted me too all within one minute. For the record, my legs aren’t bowed either! Of course, my sometimes-foolish husband has locked his mum’s words deep within his subconscious and keeps suggesting that it might be wise to take our son to the specialist. I for one am insulted that my husband can’t have more of a backbone in this matter. Then again, I’m not surprised. His mum has probably been in his ear nonstop about sending our son to the specialist.

While I’m inclined to be a brat and go against her wishes, I think this time I will take my son to the specialist just so I can prove her wrong and tell her to mind her business in future.  There’s a foot specialist nearby that I always pass on the way to work. I think I might send my son there. I think what irritates me most about this interaction is how she went about mentioning my son’s legs. It wasn’t a polite statement of concern. It was as if she found him repulsive and then she proceeded to bark orders at me like I was some servant. Anyone else have to deal with mothers-in-law like mine?