Tying Shoes

Since waking up from the medicated coma, I had to relearn how to do essential functions, such as, walk, talk, brush my teeth, ect. Even how to keep my chin from resting against my chest. Some things came quicker than others. While somethings I am still working on mastering. How to get dressed was one of the first to be developed. The ability to put one’s own socks on might seem like a mundane task. But after months of not being able to get the sock past my toes, it becomes a step towards independence. I stated earlier, that I was told I would never live on my own. Learning the best way to take care of personal matters like putting socks on and dressing myself are all steps towards independence a goal I have accomplished with varying degrees of success.

Having to rely on parents to cut your nails or button your shirt takes one away from independence. There are, of course, ways to get around some of these tasks like shoes, for example. (this brings me to the point and inspiration of this post) since the time that I had my stroke (5/15/2003) I had a vendetta against shoe laces. The easiest way to get around this was to wear shoes without laces. Or have my mom set my shoes up with a one-handed lacing which still required a knot to be made to set the laces in place.

This would mean anytime I purchased a new pair of shoes they would need to be fixed with this lacing. While it is not a big hindrance to total independence it is a little more difficult to think of having shoes without the proper look of knotted laces. Well, after fourteen years of avoiding shoes with laces because of this, the other day, I managed to tie a pair of shoes. (At the end of this article I will link the video I found that showed me how this could be done.) It was a feeling of ecstasy. I promptly took a picture of my neat looking laces and shared it to social media. I felt like a kid who had just discovered how to snap or how to whistle.

After uploading the picture, I went outside to take these new shoes for a short walk. I wanted to test the knots I had made and to see if they would come undone or hold up. Also, I wanted to show off the fact that I was wearing laces. Finally, I would no longer have to shy away from sneakers or dress shoes with laces. It might not seem like a hughe accomplishment, but to me, it was the opening of a new door, and a giant step towards total independence. Fourteen years of wearing slip on shoes, now I can wear shoes with laces.

I took my walk and was all smiles the whole way. Now and then I look down to check if the knot had come undone. I was skeptical that it would hold, but when I got home the bow was still in place. For now, I am filled with the ideas of laces, things I never thought I would have to be concerned with again.