I Can't Help Falling (in Love with Yaktrax)

For those of you who don't know me well, one important thing you should know is that I fall.

Often.

Okay, well, not every day, but often enough that I've sustained some pretty swell (pun intended) injuries from it. I think my first major fall was junior year of high school, which led to a sprained ankle. There were some safe intervening years, but I had a lovely fall while majorly pregnant with Hannah down an icy hill at the end of 2003. When she was just a week old, and coming home from a cardiology appointment with her Grandma Susan there to witness it, I fell going down the few steps into our Brookline condo (thank goodness for the infant carseat / baby bucket). Then there was "The Fall That Started It All" in November 2005, when I was wheeling Hannah in her stroller down the daycare steps, and fell with her stroller landing on top of me, which I believe was the initiation of all my back problems. Of course, I also fell while pregnant with Max right before Thanksgiving (so only 8 months along that time). The arrival of Max just happened to coincide with me starting to break my bones, first with Extreme Strawberry Picking in June 2008, and then during an episode of the Winter Blahs in January 2009 (my heel and a finger, respectively).

So I've got quite a history with falling. I trip over toys, over my own feet, pretty much anything. But walking on ice and snow is by far the worst, and I find it totally terrifying. Basically, I can have a panic attack on my walk home from the train. But those days have come to an end.

After at least a year of hearing about it regularly from my friend Ana, I went ahead and purchased a pair of Yaktrax Walkers. The elasticized plastic wraps snugly around my boots and the steel coils grip the ice beneath my feet. Since I've worn them, my feet haven't slipped even the slightest bit while walking outside (and while I gag having to write it, you should know that we've got about 4' high snowdrifts in my town right now). My heart no longer races while waiting with Hannah at the bus stop, wondering when and how I'll slip, and what injury I'll end up with this time. They are truly a miracle product, and I've fallen in love with my Yaktrax.

Now, Ana has vigilantly warned me that Yaktrak turn your boots into ice skates if worn on tile or marble, so I have to take them off once I get to the T station in the morning, and put them on just as I begin my walk home. This has definitely led to some strange looks and interesting conversations with my fellow commuters, but I don't mind at all. I'm happy to tell anyone who will listen about them, and that's why I'm telling you here now.

I told Ana that the snow was likely to stop once I bought my Yaktrax, and for once that bit of Murphy's Law hasn't played out (sorry, all!). But the peace of mind I've gotten by spending the $25 was well worth it. Many thanks to Ana - hopefully I'll make it through this winter injury-free!

(And in case anyone cares, I was in no way compensated for this post and all opinions are my own. I'd Blog with Integrity if anyone did want to send me free stuff though!)