Perspiration and Patience

There is a reason for most things.

I have always wondered why I have very very sweaty palms and feet.

This has been a problem since childhood.

In primary one my schoolwork was always dirty and smudged with pencil markings until my mom taught me to use a handkerchief to be placed between my hand and the exercise book. This formula worked so well I think some of you have seen me write in this manner in JC/ Uni.

Also, my feet always stank after school as a result of being cooped up in socks and shoes for hours.

In school, I always hated having to "hold hands with your partner" and I avoided games which involved hand holding. I remember in TKGS, we had this really fun series of PE lessons involving folk dancing which of course required hand holding. My enjoyment was always tempered by the worry of what my partner would think of my extremely sweaty hands. During the dances that involve changing partners, I always had to explain and apologise to every friend, each time we switch partners.

After playing games, say computer games, the keyboard/ mouse/joystick would be drenched with my sweat. Heck, I can see shiny wet spots on the keys of this keyboard at this very instant!

In my professional career, I try not to shake clients' hands (unless they offer their hands for a shake first, in which case I have little choice). In any case, I will smile very brightly so they do not get offended at my sweaty hands/ that I did not shake their hands.

My choices of footwear are also very limited. On the one hand pumps and shoes that restrict air circulation will have to be washed very frequently (thus reducing their lifespan greatly); otherwise they will stink. On the other hand, slip-ons are difficult to wear because they are just too slippery. I compromise by buying stringy sandals that will fit snugly yet allow for ample air circulation. But my huge feet and the very specific designs required make my choices very limited indeed.

As my pregnancy progressed, my problem seems to have exacerbated. I must be extra extra careful when handling things because my level of clumsiness has shot up. Coupled with swollen fingers, my lack of grip spells a disaster waiting to happen. Also my feet, now too swollen to fit into snug strappy sandals, have to make do with slip-ons. And so the swollen feet, slippery footwear plus the added weight of my beloved bump results in super duper slow shuffling (not walking). Honestly, I think I look like a penguin waddling.

On the flip side, one thing I have learned from this is that the extra care I have had to take has taught me a great deal of patience.

One has to be very patient to walk super slowly and disregard the masses of people overtaking one especially if one is normally a pretty aggressive and impatient person who races past everybody else during the morning/evening commuting rush hour.

One has to be very patient when negotiating staircases when one cannot see where one places one's feet and one's shoes are slippery and one's hand's grip on the railing (if any) is dubious at best.

And of course, when one has an urgent need to head for the loo but one cannot run or rush (it is just not possible), it takes a great deal of patience and control!