Tag Archives: Shoe Store

A Calendar Full of Red

15 Wednesday Jul 2026

Posted by in Diabetic, Disability, Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Pets, Retirement, Uncategorized

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My cat Sophia must have decided I needed the extra rest because she let me sleep until 6:30 this morning—an hour later than my usual wake-up call. I don’t know what got into her, but I’m not about to question a miracle.

My wife had a physical therapy appointment today, so I didn’t get much accomplished before it was time to chauffeur her to the appointment at 11:00. While she was with her therapist, I stayed in the truck. I used the time to go over my upcoming Bible study lesson. It was a productive way to pass the time.

I had planned to take my new shoes back to the store because the longer I wear them, the more my right foot hurts. I was hoping I could simply exchange them for a 7E width, but after doing some research online, I discovered that width isn’t available in the current style. Since my wife also had another appointment later in the day, I couldn’t make it to the shoe store. That means I’ll have to make a special trip tomorrow and hope I can find a pair that actually fits.

I have physical therapy in the morning, and afterward I’ll head across town to the shoe store. Once that’s done, I’ll come back home, pick up my wife, and take her grocery shopping.

After we get back, I’ll start loading what I can for Friday’s fishing trip. Unfortunately, I have a late meeting across town, so I won’t be able to load my kayak or fishing rods until I get home around 11:00 that night. Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to load everything, so I should still be able to get to bed early enough for my 4:00 a.m. alarm.

I looked over my calendar for the next month, and it’s covered in red. I mark all of my appointments—and all of my wife’s appointments—in red so they stand out. Right now, there’s something scheduled at least three days every week, and several days have two appointments. Retirement sure wasn’t supposed to involve this many waiting rooms.

I’ll be glad when my wife gets her car back. Sharing one vehicle has made scheduling everything a lot more complicated. I know it’s only temporary and it couldn’t really be helped, but it has definitely added a layer of inconvenience to our daily routine. Hopefully, things will get back to normal soon.

If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit… Send It Back!

14 Tuesday Jul 2026

Posted by in Diabetic, Disability

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Going to the shoe store has become one of my worst nightmares. Not everyone sells the shoes in the width that I need. In fact, there are only two stores in the Birmingham metro area that sell shoes in my size.

For those who are new here, I have Charcot. Charcot is a condition that makes my bones brittle. Two years ago, I unknowingly broke my right foot. It couldn’t be a normal break; it had to be broken in several places. What makes it worse, I didn’t know that it was broken for a couple of weeks. I have neuropathy in both feet, so I have no feeling. I only noticed when my foot was swollen so bad that my foot no longer fit in the shoe.

To make a long story short, I was in a splint for 3 weeks, a cast for eight weeks, and a boot for another ten weeks. My right foot is a 10.5 6E, and my left foot is a 9.5 3E. No, I don’t purchase two separate shoe sizes. I just purchase the larger size, and the orthotics take care of the fitting in my left foot.

So far, I’ve only found one store that sells the shoe that really fits me. It’s a New Balance style 907. They only make that shoe in one color: white. After about a month, the shoes are no longer white but a dingy gray.

Last year we tried to purchase a different-style shoe, same size and width, only to find that it caused massive blisters. I had to send the shoes back.

I went to the shoe store yesterday to purchase some new shoes because the others were falling apart. I purchased another style of shoe because I wanted a color other than white. I finally got around to putting them on a couple of hours ago, and I already know that these will be going back because they hurt my feet.

After spending nearly $200 on these shoes, I expect them to fit a little better and not hurt my feet. They act like they are simply not wide enough. I’m not sure if they make a 7E or not.

I guess I’ll be finding out tomorrow when I take these shoes back.

B