My Shoes

...my SHOES knee length boots dainty rhinestone encrusted slippers well worn Birkenstocks i love them ALL...

I love shoes, I always have. Right from when I was a little girl. I come from a family of women who all love shoes. My mother has had a life long love affair with shoes and it’s an affair that I have embraced with joyous abandon.

I own, off the top of my head, about 40 pairs of shoes (and that’s because I recently had a big clear out) and it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite pair - from my knee length boots, to my dainty rhinestone encrusted slippers, to my well worn Birkenstocks, to my black flip flops with the fading pattern of circles on them – I love them all. And I have lovingly gathered my collection of shoes over a good few years.

I never walk into a shoe shop knowing what I want. NEVER. But what I do know is that when I find the perfect pair, they SPEAK to me. My heart begins to pump, the blood rushes into my brain, my eyes dilate, my palms become sweaty and I am practically drooling. These are all the symptoms my body displays when I clap eyes on the perfect pair of shoes. It is the point of no return. Those shoes are going to a new home today, my inner voice is screaming – mine!

And because I already have so many shoes, I always have to sneak in any additional pair that I purchase. They get hidden away at the back of my wardrobe away from the prying eyes of my husband, only to resurface a couple of weeks later – on my feet.

My husband will look down, puzzled, and say ‘Those look new.’
‘What?’ I will reply with a little light laugh ‘These old things? I have had them for ages!’ and I quickly change the subject.

Oh, and all my shoes, as far as he is concerned, cost at least 25% less than what I actually paid for them. Don’t look like that! Oh, go on admit it… I am sure y’all have knocked off a couple of pounds/dollars/Yen off the actual price of your shoes when asked by your partner how much you paid for them. We all do. We’re women!!

As you look through my collection of shoes one thing will strike you straight away – they are all flat.

‘Sweetie, why don’t you try on a pair with a little bit of heel?’

This is one thing I have been urged by my husband to do on the rare occasion when he accompanies me on a shoe shopping expedition. He is 6ft 4” tall. I am 5ft 3”. And although it is more of a plea than a question, I never do.

Yes, my shoes are many things to me and if they could speak they’d have stories to tell. They are mood lifters, feet movers, body toners, calf enhancers, comfort providers, walking companions.

Each pair a part of my life: each pair serving a purpose. And each pair much loved.