Putting on our shoes!

This week's blog come courtesy of My Michelle.

I love shoes of all kinds, it’s no secret and I don’t know why, I just do!  There’s just something about them that brings me joy – whether they are dress shoes with heels, a beautiful colour (blue is my favourite, but red shoes are special too!) and my more functional ones for walking and running.  There is a standing joke in my family, as one time, I did buy a few (yes I said a few) on a bit of a shopping spree at Jimmy Choo, and I continue to have the store reach out to me with my “personal shopper Andrew” trying to lure me back! Yes, I may have a bit of a shoe addiction problem!  But I do come by this honestly!  My mom is a big shoe lover.   At this time she is in long term care and not quite the same since her stroke of 2 years ago, but it brings a big smile to my face as I think of her and how just before this all happened and how we did a bit of a shoe “fashion show” trying on all her favourites!  She too is a lover of red shoes!  Lucky for me, Richard has never been too bothered by this hobby of mine as a “shoe collector”, although he was a bit concerned about the “Choo” shopping spree at the time! Lol.

This week kicked off the Southlake Virtual Challenge and fundraising efforts – Richard and I are entered as a team called Richard’s Roadrunners (Beep! Beep!) – not that we are doing a lot of running these days (other than back and forth to Toronto and Prince Margaret Hospital) but we are doing our best to get out and get walking, enhancing our fitness and wellness goals  for this amazing cause.  You just don’t realize how fortunate we are to have this amazing hospital here in our community and the top notch health care teams that they employ, until you need it.  Southlake and the Regional Cancer Centre have been there for us and Richard has received excellent care and follow up – and we are doing our small part to show our appreciation and raise funds.  We are actually in the top 10 for fundraisers for this cause and we thank  you for your support!

Certainly we have been much more active in the past than we are now, we have just settled into a new normal, and lowered our expectations a bit – adjusting to accommodate Richard’s energy levels and I’ve been adding a bit more in to ensure we hit our goals!  While I say adjusting to meet Richard’s energy levels, I have to say he is doing well and not much keeps him down and he continues to outpace me for sure on our walks!  Movement gives you so many benefits, not the least of which is a change in landscape:  something else to look at, other people to see, a chance to see neighbours and say hello (from a safe physical distance of course) and there is something about walking, that also gives you time to talk.   Sophie and our puppy Lily are consistent walking partners, and at times our sons Josh and Jon will join in.

It sometimes takes real motivation, teamwork and support to “put the shoes on” and get out the door, and in many ways, this is a metaphor for how we face these days and this part of our cancer journey together.  There are days when Richard leans on me and with encouragement, to  “put the shoes on”, and outside we go.  There are days (and these are many) when I lean on him and get motivation from him as he “puts the shoes on” and heads down to Princess Margaret Hospital, to participate in a clinical trial, and with the hope that this is working for him and for us.  

When he is away for his treatment, whether that is for the full day or with the overnight hospital stay, our house is a lot quieter,  our puppy mopes around, our kids mope around and we wait for the texts to come through from him to let us know  how Richard is doing, how the treatment is going, how he is feeling and importantly “when are you going to be home?”.  On these days, it is really hard to “put the shoes on” and go about my day.  Sophie and I try and get out for a walk to keep our team going and contributing to the virtual challenge, but we don’t really go out until we know that “daddy is doing well” and we can have a bit of a spring in our step.

We all have our challenges that we are working through every day and I hope that you find motivation to “put your shoes on” and just put one foot in front of the other.  I find that is sometimes all it takes, and before you know it,  you are walking and coping and able to face what life throws at you that day.  That’s all it takes, just face what this moment brings – that’s what I am trying to do.

I encourage you to “put your shoes on”, and if you need a little motivation, there’s nothing like a new and colourful pair to literally put some spring in your step!  I have a beautiful pink pair of trainers that make me smile.

Now I wonder what the new line up is this spring at Jimmy Choo….?

Love Michelle XO