Just A Couple Of Feet

I was keenly aware when I was a little lad that my feet were seen as being 'wide'. I had no idea what this meant in physical terms, since my feet were just the two bits of my body I looked down on at regular intervals and they looked perfectly normal to me. But whenever I went for a pair of shoes the ritual confirmed the wideness of those two bits of me. We always went to Clarkes, the only shoe shop that measured kids' feet for width, and regardless of who did the measuring the verdict was always the same - my feet were disturbingly wide.

It's only in recent months that the disturbing quality of their wideness has become obvious even to their possessor. This was partly the result of Noi remarking one day on their deformity, as if this were a fact of life she'd always taken for granted, assuming the same of myself. In addition I can't help but glance at the feet of worshippers adjacent to myself at Prayers realising that all those feet look very narrow from my perspective. Goodness knows what they make of mine.

In fact, Noi reckons they're getting wider with age, I suppose as a result of the daily pounding they take. I'm now very much aware that at the end of a busy day they ache very distinctly indeed.  That happens to be the case just now. It's not a terribly unpleasant feeling in its way, bringing with it a mild sense of accomplishment. But I can foresee the day when simply walking will take some effort. I just hope that's a long way off.