Things We Cover

Ok, so we need to talk about my toes for a minute. 

I know, I know. This is a topic that grosses some people out. You don’t like feet. I get it. I really do. But stay with me. 

Over the summer I walked in a parade to support of our school’s dance team. By the end of the day my feet were sore. Apparently I wasn’t wearing the right shoes, and my toenails were a little to long. The next day my two big toes had started to bruise under the nail. They hurt, pretty badly actually. I was starting to have trouble walking. Over the coming days my big toes looked uglier and uglier. 

Eventually the pain lessoned, but the bruises remained.

 So I went to my favorite nail salon to get a pedicure. I very rarely get my toes fully painted. But I couldn’t stand the way the nails looked so I picked out a fun dark blue polish so the bruises wouldn't show through and the manicurist began to paint away. 

One thing I have always loved about my body is my feet. I know I’m a little weird like that. But really, they’re little, they’re cute. With the freshly colored toes, my feet were back to lovely. Back to me. 

Only here’s the thing, bruises under your nails never go away. They can only grow out. So even though I couldn’t see the ugly it was still there. Even though I couldn’t see the evidence, my toes still hurt. 

They ached for a very long time. 

The nails began to grow and the polish needed to be replaced. Back to the salon I went. When she removed the color, there it was. I couldn't avoid it. The ugly and the pain were uncovered. 

We try to do the same in our lives. We get hurt and try to cover up the pain and the bruises so that we can no longer see them. But it still remains. It doesn’t go away. We try to pretend it’s not there, but as we walk through life we become tender to the touch, and wince with pain. At some point it’s all uncovered again so that we have to face it. We cover everything up so that it looks lovely on the outside, but yet, we still feel the pain on the inside. 

Here it’s been 10 months since the bruises appeared and they are slowly growing out, at one point part of one of the nails started to fall off. (I hear you gaging. We’re almost done. I promise.) I’ve had to tend to my nails. Clean them. Bandage them and take extra care of them. 

My friend, there comes a point when we have to do the same with our hearts and minds. We need to tend to them. Clean them. Bandage them. Take extra care of them. It can sometimes look a little ugly or unappealing but with enough time and patience, everything will come full circle and it will all become a distant memory. 

Love you madly.

Leslie

P.S. What’s the bruise you are trying to keep covered up? Do you need help tending to the wound? I’m here. I can show you the best ways to go about it. Email me at leslie.canup@gmail.com.