I have my parents to thank for the many positive traits I inherited. Flat feet are not one of them. For years, I purchased shoes with arched insoles, assuming this would help address my skeletal-muscular defect. I finally learned that the only way I could be comfortable was in shoes with dead flat insoles. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to find such footwear that also meets my other criteria for function and style. When I do stumble upon a shoe that works for me, I have learned to buy three pairs. Pictured above is my collection of lightweight trail shoes. After much wear and tear, the pair on the left is now relegated to yard work. I wear the pair in the middle almost every day. The pair on the right are brand new, and I will not start using them until my everyday shoes get demoted to yard work and my yard work shoes wind up in the trash.

This set of shoes is likely to last me 6-8 years. The reason I buy them all at once is that most companies revise their product lines every couple of years, and I want to avoid the lengthy process of finding another set that meets all of my criteria. To me, this seems like a logical solution. To others, a reason to question my sanity and/or intelligence.

A few weeks ago, I had an ultrasound, which revealed a couple of 3mm kidney stones and an 8mm bladder stone that I had to look forward to. Today, I passed the bladder stone. Mercifully, the 8.4mm long stone was only 4mm in width.