The first year I did the the Kansas City AIDS Walk, it rained. I wore the right shoes for walking, but the wrong shoes for rain. All the water in the whole swamp of a park soaked into my shoes and by the time I headed home, I couldn't even tell if I had feet. They were so numb with cold and wet and I sat in my car for twenty minutes rubbing them with a blanket and blasting the heat. The second year I did the Kansas City AIDS Walk, it rained. I wore the right shoes for rain, but not really the most comfortable for walking. All that mattered was that my feet were dry. This year, I started studying the weather maps weeks in advance. For days the weather report has shown a 90% chance of rain for Saturday. I finally broke down and bought some rain boots. Too be perfectly honest, you didn't really need to twist my arm to purchase a pair of rain boots. I've been eyeing them for some time for a number of reasons. Rubber boots seem like a very practical purchase, but I have been putting it off because I have a hard time spending money on shoes that I will get dirty. And yes I read that sentence out loud to myself and I know it sounds crazy pants. I used the AIDS Walk this year to get over it and just buy the dang boots. In the end I found a pair on Amazon and got a really good deal on them, so I feel pretty OK about the purchase.

Now let me give you a bit of advice about rain boots. This only applies if you are as dumb as I am when it comes to rubber boots, but whatever you do, do not try on rubber boots without wearing socks. Pressing a bare foot into a rubber boot creates a vacuum that makes removing the boot scary hard. I say scary hard, because there was a moment when Michael was trying to pull the boot off my right foot and it wouldn't budge. He actually lifted my whole body off the bed so that I was kind of dangling there with my leg trapped under his armpit while he was tugging on the boot. We took a break at this moment because I started having a minor panic attack. You know how when a little kid gets their head stuck in something like a bucket or between the rails on a back of a chair and you have to calm that kid down, because all the screaming and stress makes everything worse? That's basically the same thing that happens when you can't get a rubber boot off of your foot. We eventually got the boot off, but there was a moment when I seriously thought I'd be wearing that boot for the rest of my life and how I'd have to adapt my life around a rubber boot on my right foot. I imagined climbing into bed and under the covers with a rain boot on my foot. For the rest of my life because I don't believe in cutting up perfectly good boots.

I am thankful that I have rain boots to keep my feet dry and comfortable. I am thankful that we eventually got that one boot off my foot. I am thankful that our rain chances for Saturday has dropped form 90% to 60%, even if that 60% is predicted for the early morning right in the middle of the AIDS Walk. It almost goes without saying that what I am most thankful for this week and all of the weeks leading up to the AIDS Walk are all of you who donated to my fundraising page. I always set my fundraising goal for $250.00 because I feel like asking for things is too much and that's a reasonable goal. As of writing this entry, thanks to all of you, we have raised over $500 that will go to HIV/AIDS prevention and education and care here in Kansas City. I know people who raise thousands of dollars for the AIDS Walk, but I am always amazed that I can raise any amount for the AIDS Walk. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

I am thankful for Josephine's new haircut even though she looks naked because at least her body isn't dragging in half of the yard with her every time she comes inside. I've pulled so many leaves and elm tree droppings from her fur and the floors look like I never vacuum. We all know that I am a person who is always vacuuming. And I may be typing this up too early, but we have not had an animal incident since the bird last Thursday. We thought that bird had escaped out the open basement window. He did not. Michael found him Saturday evening when he went to get me the laundry baskets. Poor bird. I am thankful for the two new (very clean) dishes I introduced to our menu this week. One was OK, but the other one was met with grand applause. What else? I am thankful for the things sprouting in the garden. I am thankful for the rain that helped make those sprouts happen. I am thankful.

Here's to a grand, yet soggy weekend and a super duper Thankful Friday!