Foot Care

It's January - time to put your best foot forward - figuratively and literally!

During the first week back to school, I vowed to continue my fitness regime from 2016 of walking around the community for a portion of the lunch hour. When I walked on Monday, I wore boots because of the snow. My boots aren't meant for long walks; after I was through, the bottoms of my feet had blisters from the wear. New plan: wear running shoes instead of boots, even if it's snowy out. This worked on Tuesday but on Wednesday, my feet felt funny after the extra-long trek on the icy sidewalks; I examined my feet and I had bled right through my sock on my left heel. The shoes I wore weren't the proper size (lesson learned - don't rush when buying footwear, even when you have family members impatient to leave the store - I ended up with a size 7 on the left and a size 9 on the right, and I usually wear a 7.5 - the shoes work fine as long as I'm not walking far).

We don't realize how important our feet are as teachers until they pain us. At the ETFO Presenter's Palette session, one of the guest speakers was Gwen Merrick, a Speech Language Pathologist. She spoke to us about keeping our voices healthy. I think the same is true for our feet. That's why I decided as part of my daughter's birthday present that I'd treat both of us to manicures and pedicures. I don't do pedicures often, especially in the winter. My usual justification is that no one will see my bare toes, so why bother painting them? However, I felt that proper foot care is meant for me, not others, so it was irrelevant who saw my pretty painted nails but important to get my feet taken care of. It's also important to choose the salon you use carefully; in the past, my feet were injured after a pedicure that was a bit too vigorous with the cutting and scrubbing, and made me limp for weeks. I really like the place I go to now (QS Nails, between Scarborough and Pickering).

Daughter's pedicure (happy 17th birthday!)

My pedicure, thanks to QS Nails.

This time of year can be very busy for teachers as they hurry to prepare and mark exams or finalize grades and write report cards. This post is just a gentle reminder to take time to take care of yourselves - your feet, your voice, and the other important parts of you.