As My World Turns

                                                                                                                                                      Shoes!….by JoAnn

Have you ever stopped to count the pairs of shoes you have had over the course of your life?

As a child, I remember shoe shopping very well.  It was always exciting to know I would be getting a new pair of shoes.  My mother’s hope was that they fit well and be durable.  All I really cared about was that they be trendy enough to impress my classmates at school.  Unfortunately, just as I would find a favorite pair, I’d wake up one morning and had outgrown them, and I would be disappointed.  I never had more than a few pairs of shoes that fit as a youngster.  Usually a pair of sneakers for playing, a casual pair for school, and a pair of dress shoes.  This was my life with shoes during my growing years in the 1960s.

I remember enjoying shoe shopping immensely once I became a young woman and my feet stopped growing.  Now I could buy shoes and wear them until they wore out.  It also meant that I could purchase many styles, for different occasions and outfits.  I could have an entire closet full of shoes if I wanted because they would always fit me!

The most memorable purchase had to be my first pair of high heels.   I had long admired women who could pull off wearing heels with grace and poise.  They made it look so effortless.  I thought they made a woman’s legs looks so sexy.  At 18, I wanted to look like that.  So, I bought my first pair of high heels.  They were slip-on and had a skinny 5-inch heel.  Wow, I felt beautiful and sexy.  I was sold!  I would be wearing heels every chance I could to look and feel this way.  That attitude lasted until my feet started hurting, and my ankles swelled.  Then I purchased a much lower heel and kept the high heels for special occasions only.

Things have changed somewhat as an older adult.  I still get excited at the thought of a new pair of shoes, but don’t really care if they are trendy or not.  Long gone are the days of impressing friends with what I wear.  One word sums up what is most important in a shoe for me these days, COMFORT!  I no longer have a closet full of pretty shoes.  But I do have a few pairs of good ole comfy shoes that will function in whatever situation I may find myself.  Like old friends, they are worn in and reliable, and that’s just the way I like it.

It’s funny to think of all the shoes that have been in my closet over the years.  I admit, I fell into the trap that many females do and bought more shoes than I should have. just to follow the popular trends at the time.  It sounds shameful, but I probably threw away or donated more shoes than I wore.  And now, at age 57, I’m back to the basics of when I was a child.  I have one good pair of sneakers, a great pair of sandals, and one pair of dress shoes that are very rarely worn.  But all three are comfortable!  They may not be the trendiest, or the most attractive, but my feet thank me every time I wear them.

So, my shoe history has gone from playful, to sexy, to supportive.  And shoe shopping has become more of a chore than a hobby.  It seems many things in life have followed the lead of my shoes.  As a dear friend often reminds me, “Such is life”.