I cannot remember the last time I paid full price for a pair of shoes for myself. Scratch that. I can't remember the last time I even bought
new shoes for myself. I still wear the sandals I had in High School. (Let's not talk about how long ago that was). "No need to buy something new when the old ones are perfectly fine, and totally comfortable," I tell myself. I thought for sure this was the summer they would finally fall apart- but summer is over and they are still intact. Amazing. I just don't have the knack for wearing out a pair of shoes.
Well, that's not totally true. I had this pair of brown shoes that I found at a garage sale. They were in perfect(ly fine) condition, and just my size. I paid $1.00 for them. I loved them. I wore them everywhere. One day it happened. The elastic that holds the pseudo buckle in place - snapped. I tried to see a way to just sew it back together or something, but it just doesn't look like that is a possibility. I almost thought about crying.... but that seemed silly over a $1.00 pair of shoes.
A short time after that, I was in the shoe store looking for shoes for one of my kids. And you wouldn't believe it, but I found a pair of shoes that were pretty much the same as my old pair that I dearly loved. Different brand, but same cute brown color w/ the buckle. Unfortunately they wanted $30.00 for them. (Jeff, do you read my blog? I wasn't going to put the price here, 'cause I haven't told you how much I paid for these shoes. I guess I've told you now.) Sheesh, that's a little steep. They were having their BOGO sale though, and we only found a pair of shoes for one girl... I couldn't pass up the "get one half off" part of the sale, even if it is the $15.00 pair I get half off of. Very wise marketing.
So I did it. I bought those over priced shoes. Take into account that they will probably last me until my death bed at the rate I wear out shoes, and I did need (want?) them to replace that other pair, and they actually are pretty comfortable, and did I mention that I really, really like them??? (No need to mention that I have 15 other pairs of shoes in my closet).
Then, I wanted to savor that newness, so I left them in the box, in the closet, for about a month. Every so often, I would look at them and wonder if I'd made a good choice. Finally, I decided that it was time to start wearing them. Today, I even had the courage to wear them out of the house while I walked to the school to pick up Savannah. It's a done deal! I'm the proud owner of a new pair of shoes. They are officially mine.
Now, rewind a bit. You might remember that we have recently moved. In this new area that we are in, there are dog lovers. Not just a few. Not just dog owners. Dog LOVERS!! I'm beginning to believe that everyone who lives here has something in their genetic makeup that makes them become overly attached to dogs. At any given time of the day, I can go outside and see someone out walking their dog. We are a very leash friendly, pick-up-after-your-pet-doggy-bag, neighborhood.
You know the childrens dog book,
Go, Dog. Go! ? Big Dogs, Little Dogs, Black and White dogs, and they all go up the tree to the dog party? I've read it many times. This neighborhood is that book. In fact, I think P.D. Eastman might live up the street from me. The week we moved in, our street had a "block party" which included the annual dog race. All of the neighbors on our street brought their dogs to the block party. The dogs are like members of the family. It baffles my mind... I'm clearly not a dog lover.
But, I am a shoe lover. (Even if I agonize over the purchase price of a new pair). So here I was sporting my new pair of shoes on my long walk to the school. When we got home I started thinking about what a nice day it is outside. "I have a bit of yard work to do, and I can do it and enjoy one of the last nice days before winter sets in," I thought to myself. Madison was asleep in the stroller, so I moved it over into the shade on the lawn. I stepped off the lawn onto our sidewalk and felt the dreaded "squish." You know the one. The kind that happens right after you've stepped into dog poop.
Yucky! And all over my new pair of shoes. So now you have it. The reason new shoes and dogs don't mix.
