Flip-flopping

Years ago, I wore the most comfortable shoes during the summer. They were Dr. Scholl's, I think, with wooden soles, and bumps where the toes began so that I would have to grip with my feet while I walked. They were the thing, then, and subsequent incarnations of them have proven to be quite popular. Even the lowly flip-flop is accepted in places far beyond its original poolside haunt. Some are quite stylish - covered in rhinestones or ribbon or cutwork.

Earlier this week, however, podiatrists decried the unstrapped sandal because we are made to push off with our toes, not hold on. Apparently my painful feet issues didn't come from high heels (which I haven't worn since Field Trip was born) but from years and years of pseudo-beach footwear.

This wasn't the only reversal, either. For decades pediatricians have told us that putting babies on their stomachs causes SIDS, a horrible, unreasonable, and sudden death. Today I heard a frantic cry for "tummy time," because when babies are on their backs all the time it can cause developmental issues in the brain. They even want us to - gasp! - put the infants on their sides, as well!

And what's this about a growing movement based on a 1939 book about food? Dentists and doctors all over the world are getting on board with a nearly seventy-year-old philosophy of eating liver, butter ("so thick you can see teeth marks"), unpasteurized milk, bone jelly, and anything fermented and pickled. It seems this newfangled, modern love affair with lean meats, raw vegetables, and monounsaturated fats is hampering our ability to process and use certain vitamins and enzymes - perhaps why we have so much heart disease and cancer in this happy-happy, sanitized world.

Of course, my favorite one is the reversal on credit cards. As I paid them off, I closed them - that was what was recommended, and it seemed reasonable. Little did I know (because I won't pay the $10 a month to monitor it) my credit score has been falling - because what the "experts" apparently didn't know is that credit bureaus base those scores on how we use credit, which, in we've-lost-too-much-to-bad-mortgages double-speak, means the ratio of how much we have borrowed to how much we can access in open credit lines.

Y'know, I get the whole "new research" thing. I do. Things change, people update. But I'm really angry at the dogpile this week! So, rather than throw out all of my plastic sandals (which, to be honest, look super-fab on this new body) I will walk tippy-toed around the house. And I always solved the baby issue by play time - lots of airplane and roly-poly and bicycles with their legs. As for the food thing, hell, until recently I made my own stock (and will again, egad!) and since I'm German by background the only thing I haven't tasted in more than a month or two is the milk - and I have seriously tactile memories of the bottles with cream on the top and the taste ... oh, Lord, the taste of that wonderful milk ... if someone builds it, I will come. And I figured out the credit card thing awhile ago anyway, but decided to just open a couple newbies - with rebates (mortgage and gas) that I will pay off every month.

Maybe my real problem is not that people have reversed their stances; it's that I fell for anything in the first place. From child rearing to sealing our houses to alcohol consumption, we are listening every day to these experts - people who must climb over each other to get their names into print (which equals money from grants and endorsements). Doctors, gurus, and politicians talk, and we listen and even act without question when they say "change this," "buy this," "eat this," or "don't worry we have plenty of money" for ... whatever ... and budget be damned.

What's happened to common sense? What's happened to saying "no" or "yes" because we know it's right? Are we so afraid of making our own mistakes that we will copy others' bolos? Are we that insecure or do we simply need someone to blame when things go wrong?

Trouble is, I will still listen to them, still take their view to heart. But not to action. I will listen and read and then do what makes sense to me. I will listen to my conscience, my heart, and my head. And if I screw it all up, even if I do it listening to others, then it's still my mistake, not theirs.

After all, who else is in charge of my life if not me?