On the afternoon of Inauguration Day, Erin and I finally went out and got new running/walking shoes. I at least attempt to run somewhat regularly, and Erin is taking long walks and doing some running too, and it had been an embarrassing amount of time since either of us had freshened up the footwear. I think my shoes were held together only by hope and offered about as much support as having a moth-eaten potato sack tied around my feet.
We went to a running store, and everything is super high tech now. They scan your feet and give you suggestions. I had a few to choose from, narrowed down even more by the fact that my feet are super flat and I need the wide version of anything. Eventually I settled on a brand I hadn’t heard of before, Hoka, which felt really light and comfy.
I have long been going with extra cushioned kicks for running, and these were no different. Inspired after an exciting day on Wednesday, I put the new shoes on Thursday morning and went downstairs to the treadmill for a run.
They worked great and feel great. Still, I can’t help but note that the almost comical amount of cushion on the inside face of the shoe reminds me a little bit of Jimmy’s jumping shoes from Seinfeld.
“Jimmy likes these shoes! Jimmy will see you later!”
After that, a pretty typical Thursday. I did finally take a little time to take down all the outside Christmas lights, bringing us back officially to post-holiday winter doldrums. I’m already getting my first signs of being excited for spring.
While doing all of that I had my iPhone on random shuffle of the songs on it, and one popped up that I didn’t expect. Long ago I downloaded a Sesame Street album for Amelia when she was little, and the classic original version of “Bein’ Green” came up.
I was about to click past it, but then was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. I remember listening to that song on a vinyl Sesame Street record we had when I was a little kid. I know it’s sort of become the cliche Kermit the Frog song, but the song and the sentiment it expresses truly are beautiful. It captures the feeling of wanting to be something you’re not before realizing that what you are actually is pretty fantastic.
Being comfortable in your own skin seems like the simplest thing, but it’s so much easier s aid than done. But achieving that is where real inner peace can be found. It’s something we try to teach our kids all the time, and there’s something comforting about hearing it come from Kermit.
“So why wonder? Why wonder? I am green. And it’ll do fine. It’s beautiful. And I think it’s what I wanna’ be.”
