Stairs

When did I start having a problem with stairs?

I don’t mean the being out of breath walking up stairs kind of thing. I mean being unsure of what my feet are doing when going down stairs.

There are a lot of stairs on my new commute and (taking heed of the guidance from French Women Don’t Get Fat) I now always walk on escalators. This way I can get close to 5000 steps by the time I get to my desk in the morning.

But walking down stairs and escalators – especially in public – triggers some kind of anxiety.

Maybe it’s since Covid – I don’t like touching the handrails (Ugh! All those germs from all those people who don’t wash their hands!)

Maybe it’s my glasses – if I look through the lenses I’m waking on steps that aren’t there, which could lead to a potential catastrophe – so have to tilt my head down to see where my feel are.

Even the 12 steps at home, (12 physical steps, not The 12 Steps) I go down them sideways. I tell myself there it’s because they are narrow Victorian steps but is it?

Going up stairs, however, is easy. Although, sometimes, it’s also hard, because yes, I do sometimes get a bit out of breath.