We recently had a big clear out in our house.

During which we found a pair of yellow socks.

In an acute hospital setting yellow socks are a visual identifier to staff that the person wearing them is a “falls risk” meaning they have poor mobility, balance or all of the above.

I spent 8 weeks of 2023 wearing those socks 24 hours a day. I didn’t have the physical ability to stand. 3 years on I walk, independently for miles.

So when we stumbled. (Excuse the pun) on to a remaining pair at home, I had a weird mix of emotions but the best emotion was the pure joy of being able to put that stray pair of socks in a bin.