I was recently given a belated birthday gift by a retired professor in my department. Actually, I wasn't given it--I have to go retrieve it. "It" is a designer top of my choosing from an upscale ladies boutique that I've never heard of, nor have had any reason to know of, as it probably does not cater to my mainstream fashion and discount shopping sensibilities. When he told me of his intended gift while in my office one day, he encouraged me to go to this store, and told me its whereabouts, and pick out a nice top--any top I wanted, regardless of price--and just tell the clerk that he was paying for it. When I tried to refuse such a kind gift, he became very stern and repeated, "please, please." With such mannerly insistence, how could I then decline the offer? So I accepted, and agreed to go to the boutique and pick out a top of my liking regardless of price and tell the salesperson, "it's on Dr. So-and-so." When I pictured myself doing this, I couldn't help but conjure up images of a certain film about a classless prostitute who is made proper by her rich and cultured client, suddenly imbued with a conscience to help the poor girl. So in an effort to fix her up, he sends her on a shopping spree to designer stores she would never have previously patronized, or had the means to patronize. This made me further wonder, what was this professor thinking when he thought of such a gift for me? Did he view me as a hard-working but unfortunate young girl in need of refinement? I began questioning my own self image, which I didn't consider to be terribly tragic or in need of revision. Perhaps, though, his motive was as innocent as wanting to give a nice gift to me, but not wanting to risk picking something out himself. In such an instance, though, as one keen friend pointed out, the modern day gift card might have sufficed.
I'm now more than 12 weeks recovered from my second (and final!) foot surgery, and life is starting to feel a little more normal. When I l ast wrote an update , seven weeks ago (still blaming Irma for all of my delays), I had just gotten off of crutches but would wear my boot for two more weeks. I've been out of the boot and walking in shoes for just over five weeks. The constant discomfort I've felt in my foot from swelling is finally starting to wane. I work in the office now, I do my own groceries, and I even attended a work conference recently, which meant lots of walking at airports and the conference hotel, frequent standing, and few opportunities to elevate and ice. I was very concerned about how my feet, particularly the left one, would endure. And while it wasn't comfortable, I made it through, no worse for the wear in the end. I joined a new gym/community center recently, with a new and beautiful outdoor pool, and I'm so happy that I'm able to use
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