Cinderella I am not

Friday, my friend Kelly went shopping for walking shoes that didn't give her blisters. Naturally, because she is a shoe whore, she also came home with a pair of purple wedge heels that "will go with that new dress I bought". Yesterday Madison admitted she had a love for shoes, an adoration of which I was not aware. She said she loved browsing websites for different shoes and did so when she had down time.  After that revelation, I awoke this morning to an article in our paper about brides and their love for bridal shoes.  Some actually buy the shoes first and plan their dress around them. I can not relate. I wanted to get married barefoot. Apparently, I am in the minority when it comes to shoes, but I have my reasons.

Childhood - My mother assures me that she spent big bucks on good shoes when I was a child, but other than saddle shoes my earliest memory is being barefoot. We spent our spring and summers playing around the neighborhood without shoes whether we were running or biking. I can remember the bottoms of my feet being so hard that I could walk over sharp, prickly objects and not be affected. I was the champion runner in our neighborhood for a time, but only if I were barefoot. When we raced I took off shoes I might be wearing for a game of kick ball because I knew I was Hermes without them. 

Work - Of course, a large chunk of my life was spent poolside and no one back in the day wore shoes around a pool. As a swimmer we were in the water most of the day only taking time for food and trips to the bathroom, and shoes weren't needed for either. As a pool employee it was easier to get traction on a slippery pool deck if we were barefoot. Even when I did wear flip flops they were chucked off my feet during any big rescue that required running. 

Size - After college I worked a couple of years in an office. My co-worker took it upon herself to better update my wardrobe and my face. She taught me how to apply eyeliner and how to embrace heels, despite my height. She was very short and compensated by wearing very high heels. She thought flats were ridiculous with skirts and dresses and tossed out most of those that I owned, took me shopping, and then taught me how to walk in heels. While I learned to wear them finding them in my large size wasn't easy. I was a nine and a half because it was an easier size to locate pretty, fun shoes. Size ten shoes were always drab and old lady like for a young chick like me. Now that I'm actually wearing my correct size of eleven I have very little choice as few stores in my area even carry that size.  

Injury - I suppose the biggest issue for me now when it comes to shoes is injuries. In my late twenties I was diagnosed with patella femoral pain syndrome and started physical therapy which required athletic shoes. Later after having Madison, I got plantar fasciitis and the podiatrist demanded during my treatment that I wear athletic shoes any time I was on my feet.  That included nightly trips to the bathroom and when teaching swimming. He told me my time of going barefoot and wearing high heels was over.  While I took his words to heart for the most part I still cheated when I worked or wore skirts. It wasn't until my back got bad that I realized my body only worked and felt well when in athletic shoes. Wearing most any other shoe, even for a short time, can put me in pain and off my feet for a week. 

Perhaps in my next go around of life I'll be a shoe lover, but for now I choose to enjoy an obsession with other things like Steelers stuff and purses I never carry.  I'll leave the shoe fetish to my daughter and Kelly.  That is I will as long as they aren't looking at thousand dollar designer shoes!