Barefoot

I was asking mom about if she went barefoot as a kid around where she lived. She answered a firm"No." Mom grew up in Indiana where she always wore shoes. I guess to her it was unthinkable to stroll around without shoes. She was not the carefree Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn type who would rather be fishing than doing the house chores. Mom always lived a structured life ; even though, she lost her own mom when she was born. My mom grew up under my Granddad's care . She also got to spend her Summers on a farm in Upland, Indiana. This was a farm with cows, chickens, barn, well, and big two story house. She never got to milk the cows, but she did carry buckets of milk to the house. I also remember there was a windmill by the house. Two pictures which I have lost track of is my mom tending to a herd of cows at the farm and I as a small child holding a cup under the hand pump over the outside well. I spent my childhood youth in bare feet. I went through a time when the dangers of the world were eons away. I do remember occasionally getting sand spurs in my feet which was no fun. I never got my feet cut by glass, but I did get punctured by a thumb tack. However, it did not penetrate deep into my skin. I liked the feel of cool asphalt on the bottom of my feet. I also liked the feel of cool mud shifting between my toes. I liked horseback riding and leaving my toes dangling exposed to the wind. I have heard going barefoot would make your feet grow. My feet widen a bit, but not to an outrageous size. I did spend more time in tight leather shoes, sneakers, and foot pumps. Plus, I would be wearing socks and pantie hose. My feet endured the feel of the closed up foot, where my feet would sweat. Now, I spend most of my time at home and I have returned to the bare foot inside the house. If I do go out, I will wear sneakers without the socks. I love the feel of the ocean water running over my feet. I also like the sinking cold sand below my feet. The other day, I retrieved a lizard out of the bathtub which crawled up through the drain. It got loose from the cloth that I was carrying and would glide over my arm and hand with it's frog like suction cup feet. I turned it loose outside and it fell on to a branch which I left for the coolness of the house. I know if I taken a shower with the lizard, I probably would have freaked out. This lizard did not bother me at all while I held it. It was like the coral snake which ran over my mom's feet when we lived in the Town of Oakland, Florida. It happened so fast, there wasn't time to react until it was over. Jodie from "The Yearling Movie" was running through the woods with no shoes. I know this wouldn't happen in real life. I don't think he could get away without getting snake bitten or getting stickers lodged in his feet. The foot is an important part of me. so I will do what I can to take care of my feet.