I don't know what the deal is with toes and my family.

One of the fun things my sister and I did while being confined to a hospital room with our parents was to ask them about their courtship. And while the events all took place decades ago, they confirmed each other's stories. (My mom was "a hot dish" and a great cook, and my dad "fell in love with her instantly." My mom says that my dad was obviously checking her out at a party and lamely attempted to get her contact information three times by asking where she lived - how was she supposed to answer that but to tell him her neighborhood - before he finally asked her for her phone number.) My dad was a boxer in college and was always into some form of martial arts. One day, over 16,000 days ago, my dad and my mom were playing around, and when my dad went to fake kick her, my mom blocked the kick and broke his toe. Not only was she hot, but also feisty.

Fast forward some 16,000 days, and my dad is in the hospital, suffering with a rare form of stage IV cancer, with a shortage of platelets in his system. I wrote a report in the third grade on blood, which started with, "Blood is vital. Blood carrries food and oxygen to all parts of your body." While researching that report, I learned that platelets help to clot bleeding so wounds can heal. My dad's feet were swollen with fluid, and my mom was his around-the-clock bedside nurse. At one point, she was helping him and stubbed his little toe and caused him to bleed and bleed. I suppose she was again exerting her powers and letting my dad know she was the boss, as if any of us need reminding.

I don't think my mom is to blame for my current toe problem. I ran the October marathon in lightweight running shoes, and I wonder if I didn't have enough support at the front of my foot. I've had a lot of pain in my forefoot since the race, and while walknig in Boston a few days ago, in order to avoid a dead rat that was in my path, I quickly jerked my foot in an awkward position and felt the pain intensely. No, this did not set me back from shopping. Afterall, there's no sales tax on clothing in Boston. But, it did cause me to look at my toes to notice a significant swelling on my left side at the base of the toe next to my big toe.

I'm starting my training for Napa this week. I've got to start sometime. Let's hope there are no dead rats in my path.