The "Shoe Shrink" — brought to you by FootSmart

“I Could Never Do That”

By Dr. Paula Bloom

A few years ago our daughter went to circus camp. She was fascinated by the unicycle but was told that she wasn’t old enough to take the unicycle class. She became determined to learn. For her next birthday, we got her the unicycle she had really been wanting. She spent hours and hours holding herself up between chairs trying to find her balance. She’d come home from school every day and practice. Finally, after several days, she began to be able to balance on her own. She started riding slowly. That was over two years ago.

Now, our daughter rides everywhere. She rides to school sometimes, she’s been in parades and often rides when we are walking into town to go to dinner or a festival. As you can imagine, seeing a nine-year-old on a unicycle tends to draw a lot of attention and comments. THE most common one is: Wow, I could NEVER do that.

I wonder how many other things people see and assume that they could never do. Someone changing the world through persistence and patience? Getting in shape and running a marathon? Go back to school at a late age to get that degree they always wanted? Just because something LOOKS impossible doesn’t mean it is.

As if her first unicycle wasn’t enough our daughter campaigned for many months for a giraffe unicycle.

It is, gulp, five feet tall! My husband (the cooler parent) convinced me that we should get her the tall unicycle. So, we did. You can imagine what kind of attention she draws on this thing.

Listen, I have no plans to get on a unicycle and learn to ride. But, watching my daughter ride reminds me that many things are possible that we imagine aren’t.

Has there been something that at first you thought was impossible and yet, with persistence, were able to achieve? I’d love to hear from you.