Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday was a very interesting day for me this year. I attended a very nice Ecumenical Service in the Auditorium at IU. I had no clue what to expect exactly and was unsure about the delivery of ashes. It was a fairly traditional Catholic Ash Wednesday Service, not Mass. It did make me think what do other churches do for Ash Wednesday, so maybe I will explore that in more detail in the future.

The more interesting part of the day was when my boots began to fall apart. When I got to work, the sole and shoe were separating but it was just a minor separation. Prior to leaving for the Ash Wednesday Service a piece of metal fell out of the bottom of my shoe as I walked to the bathroom. When I returned, 75% of the sole was detached from the shoe. I had about 5 minutes to determine the plan of action. The rest of my day including going to the service and then to SAO mtg, luckily at least in the same bldg. Then I had a 10 minute walk across campus for class and then to a basketball game. Luckily, I drove to school and was parked in the Ed parking lot.

It was very wet outside and how the heck do you tape boots together that look somewhat okay and will survive the weather. My supervisor had an extra pair of slip on shoes at her desk, but they were size 8. I wear a size 10 to 10.5. With 5 minutes to decide and really not wanting to try to tape my shoes, I tried on her shoes. My feet fit into them and they didnt seem to bad so I said sure why not. Well the first hour was okay, but then blisters started to form on my heel especially the left foot and my toes were very cramped. I set through both the mtg and class with the shoes off (No socks either because the thick socks and my feet would not have fit into the shoes). Needless to say after class, my left heel was killing me and I walked carefully to the car and went home to get some new shoes. There was no way that I was walking to the basketball game in those shoes. Though a painful experience, it reminded me of the suffering that Jesus went through to forgive us of our sins. I thought it was fitting for the start of Lent.