Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Shoes Speak To Me


Yesterday I walked into DSW with no intention of buying shoes.  I was just along for the ride to find my brother some big, manly, boots.  As I made my way through the door I felt like I was getting back together with a long lost friend.  There was that excitement inside of me as I started walking down the aisles. 


I walked all the way to the back of the store and started looking at the “Clearance” shoes.  There was no love at first sight so I started walking the aisles like a runway model.  Each shoe that I passed had a story to tell, and seemed to call out to me, “Pick Me, Love me, Try me, Buy me.” 

That is what I love about shoes.  They speak to me, in a place in my imagination.  As my eyes fall on a pair I feel like I can spend the afternoon telling their life story.  The person who will pick them, the places that they will go, the people they will encounter, the closet they will sleep in and the countless miles that they will walk. 

There are a lot of shoes that I would never wear because they have no place in my life.  But for that one minute you can slip them on your foot and imagine yourself somewhere else.  I picked two shoes to try on during this visit.  They were right next to each other.  One of them was a high heeled black sequined shoe with a bow on the lower part of the shoe and the other was a black flip flop with 5 black fabric flowers attached to one side of the strap. 

I tried on the flip flop first because that does fit into my life.  This shoe had a name, for real.  It was called After Party.  The second my foot was inside I was whisked away to a wedding.  I was there with Jake in a beautiful black dress.  After a day of wedding festivities the dancing was about to start and so I slipped off my high heels to put on my “After Party” shoes.  We tore up the dance floor all night long. 

All the sudden I am back in DSW slipping on another pair of shoes.  A pair of expensive and comfortable black high heels with the cutest bow that I have ever seen.  As I look at my leg in the mirror I am all the sudden someone else.  I am standing on stage at the Oscars.  I just won for best actress….no, I am at a New Years party in New York….no I am at a fancy restaurant eating the most amazing food……or maybe I am standing next to the future president as the first Lady……or I am at a wedding taking off these shoes to replace them with a pair of black flip flops.  I put the shoes back in the box at DSW.

I want both pairs of shoes but I don’t get them.  I put back on my black, cheap, flat, and worn out shoes.  These shoes that I wear aren’t glamorous and they don’t make my legs look amazing, or my reflection dazzling.  But they have a story just the same.  When slipped on to your foot you are transformed into a warm, cozy, house.  You are surrounded by laughter, love, loudness, comfort, and family.  These shoes are for a mother. 

As I walk out of DSW I am glad that I was able to dream for just a second of other lives but the shoes that I have on fit just perfectly 



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