A Positive Day, buying a new coat

I was thrilled to be able to walk four miles from downtown to home today. I hadn't gone for a walk since developing metatarsalalgia last week from new, too tight shoes. The pain was pretty awful and debilitating. I wasn't sure how many weeks it would be before that healed.

The metatarsal foot pads from walmart proved to be the cure. I'm so grateful.

I love walking.

I have been trying to figure out how to buy a raincoat so that I can stay dry on my rainy, Oregon winter multitude of days. With my therapist's help, I figured out which type of jacket to look for.

Jackets can be water-resistant yet Not waterproof, which boggles my mind and is nonsense. A raincoat, in my mind,should repeal the rain. So, I had to be wary and check the wording close.

Then, because it gets dark here around 4 pm, I wasn't sure if I should get a high visibility coat, with reflective, safety colors like neon orange and yellow. I mean, I like the idea of cars being able to readily see me yet I worried others might think I looked ridiculous. I feared comments voiced at me. Sigh.

But, what did I want in a raincoat? I had to think about it, a lot. Another one of those easy tasks most neurotypicals never worry about.

So, I decided I wanted a waterproof coat, first and foremost. Secondly, I wanted glow-in-the-dark, reflective, high-visibilty colors.

So, on my walk home, I stopped at a new store I had never been in before. [This is huge in and of itself!] And I tried on a couple different coats after carefully screening their labels. I found the one I thought might work best, and I bought it!

This is now my new rain, walk, Winter, wear on the bus coat. It is mostly bright, neon yellow. I'm going to try wearing it the next time I rain walk.

It's exciting. It's a big purchase as coats tend to last for years. I hope it works for me.

I like the idea of being safer as well as staying dry. Oregon winters are very wet.

I did new things today.

And I did good!