|
Magical Footwear
By Philip R. Erwin
Change did not occur overnight. Instead I was transformed in several ways over several months. Previously I had viscerally disliked balancing and climbing on things. I spent most of my free time in non-physical, non-competitive activities and private games of imagination. Solitude was fine with me.
One day I got new sneakers. It had been a very snowy winter, meaning that I couldn't spend much time out of doors. One day it thawed and I went outside to play. I picked up my long-unused lacrosse stick and used it to toss a tennis ball against the garage door. To my utter amazement and elation I actually caught it!
I then felt an overwhelming urge to climb the big tree in the backyard. I clambered up it with ease. Great shoes, I thought. But then I felt an urgent need to climb every tree on the large property where I walked my dog. I needed to get on the roof of the garage. I felt compelled to swing and climb on the structures at the playground at the school in back of our house. I needed to ride my bike. For the first time in my life I felt as if I had a physical presence on the planet. For the first time in my life I didn't feel puny. We were well beyond good footwear. Something inside me was changing.
My final year at the prep school was dismal. At every turn I was presented evidence that I was a substandard misfit. But my skills at coping effectively with these assaults were bolstered, I believe, by two things. First, I had been reassured that my failure to thrive in the school was not entirely my fault and was not necessarily my only destiny: hope was evident. Second, I felt better about myself because the therapies I was receiving were enabling me to cope with all of the stimulation - good and bad - in a more organized fashion. The world had gradually become a less hostile place for me. And great changes were on the horizon.
| 
