In restrospect, paying a visit to
the Toronto
Zoo at the end of March—when my plantar
fasciitis was already a chronic problem and my knees
even unhappier than my feet—wasn't the brightest
idea. But fourth month old Humphrey beckoned. How
could I resist?
And he was adorable. Have a
look:
If you haven't already, you might want to take a look at Humphrey's video album clips of his early days. Here's one of my favourite videos—Humphrey's first steps:
And here are Humphrey's parents in
the water (family friend hanging out on the rocks
in the background).
If you've ever been to the Toronto Zoo, you'll know it's huge. 2.87 km² to be exact. Paddy and I didn't walk all of it that day at the end of March, but we didn't exactly take it easy either. Seeing the pandas was another must. I hadn't laid eyes on pandas in person since the last time they were at the Toronto Zoo, way back in 1985.
This time around a wide-eyed little
girl in a stroller was peering at the pandas at
the same time as we were. I'm not sure how old she
was, definitely not more than a year, but her mother
informed us that she had a beloved plush toy panda
at home and now couldn't believe her eyes. Indeed,
awe lit up this little girl's face like a sunny
July. Yes, pandas are REAL. There is true magic
in the world.
Magic and beauty like the stunning
white lions, and all sorts of intriguing creatures
from Australia's Kookaburra to a brand new mountain
gorilla baby.
So I'm not the least bit sorry I went to the zoo at the end of March, but I couldn't do it now. For the last six weeks or so twenty minutes of standing/very ginger walking has been my absolute maxium, which meant I had to cut the Dublin trip short. As it was, the majority of my holiday looked much like this, and I've been spending countless hours in the night splint sock since returning to Canada too.
Yep, I'm pretty much housebound. But I'm very grateful for the time I had visiting with family and friends while in Ireland, and am already looking forward to the next trip. In the meantime I'm continuing to do battle with plantar fasciitis, tendonitis and patellofemoral syndrome. My latest weapon is orthotics. Voila the molds of my Frankenfeet
which were used to produce some incredibly hard custom insoles designed to correct my specific feet imbalances. Luckily, I can still type and so none of this will interfere with revisions on The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing that I'm expecting later today.
Me and my Frankenfeet will be back online once I'm done editing. Meanwhile, If you happen to visit the Toronto zoo, please give Humphrey my love!
