feet

I hate my feet.  Ever since I remember my feet, they’ve been ugly to me. My guess is this all started around those teenage years when you really start caring about those kinds of things… But anyway, several years ago, my dad and I were chatting about who got what in the family and so the discussion ensued about our feet.  If there’s one trait that I received from my father, it’s his feet.  Wide feet + Hereditary Bunions = Ugly Feet, in my opinion.  (Now don’t start thinking…oh your feet aren’t that ugly…I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, ha!)

But let me back up so you understand why I’m posting about feet.  Recently, I signed up for an on-line course Unravelling with Susannah Conway.  A way to use journaling and photography to get to know the “me” that is hidden inside, a way to reconnect with “myself.”  I love these kind of exercises because I think we can all learn something about ourselves that will help us as we move along in life.  So here we go.  Assignment – Week One:  FEET.  Oh god, I’m down before I even get out the gate!  But then I think how lucky am I?  I could have missing toes, a club foot, or no feet at all!!  Your feet have carried you through all these years! Stop your whining!  But then I easily return to…I hate my feet.

This past week was quality time on the farm in Virginia with my parents. Bingo! For my first assignment, I’ll take photos with my dad’s 86 year old feet beside of mine.  My dad thought this was so funny and couldn’t understand why someone would want photos of their feet!  Of course he doesn’t remember that discussion years ago because he now has Alzheimer’s.  But when I looked at this photograph, both the stair steps and our feet really spoke to me.   It made me realize how special my feet are because I do have my dad’s feet.  I’ll be able to take this with me until I can no longer remember…and what a wonderful thing that is!  Now when I look at my feet, I’ll think about him and all the long days he spent working the farm and standing to sell our fruits and vegetables to make our family a living.

Will I ever hate my feet again?  Probably so, but I do know this exercise has given me a new outlook and now when I look at my feet, I’ll think of him and how proud I am to be the owners of these feet…a symbol of an incredible legacy within my family.  Thank you Dad!♥

Cross-posted over at Vision and Verb –  where a collaborative group of like-minded women

from all over the world share their passion for photography and the written word.