Sunday, March 26, 2017

Vanity is a cruel teacher

I love shoes. Specifically I love heels. For years I have always worn heels to work or anytime I get dressed up. I have worn them everyday, walked miles in them. Worn them in good times and bad. I had three pairs of the same shoes. Black pumps that went everywhere. I bought them on sale 3 at a time, I kept a pair in my car just in case a pair met with disaster, like the day I caught my heel in the brick sidewalk in Old Town and snapped it off. No fear another pair came to the rescue. Then as time wore on and the everyday shoes became less used I graduated to better heels. Ones that were not the workhorse of every day, not Prada or anything wild just better shoes. I loved them all. When someone said why don't you wear flats I could honestly say my back felt better in a heel. Then fashion got the best of me. Spikes, 3" heels became the go to shoe. I have two pairs and even in my best heel walking days these were just uncomfortable. So,there I was in 2 1/2 heels. Almost old lady shoes. But i persevered. And then the final blow. After a work accident that took a hunk out of my ankle and took more than a year to heal, I now have unrepairable, always lurking donut ankle. Just one but who is counting.

I love Falll and Winter because I can wear boots. Not teetering 3" boots but respectable height boots. Tall boots and ankle boots because you don't see the inevitable "donut ankle" by afternoon. Spring, summer, warm fall days are relegated to unimaginative flats or wedges. Now that I work in an office 5 days a week where people know me, the last thing I want is staring at my puffy ankle in an oh so cute heel. Vanity, oh cruel,vanity you have done me in. This spring I'll do one more round of spider vein therapy to reduce the blotchy red ankles, but I know that is a short term fix that will permit cute flats or low wedges before I am consigned forever to plain "please don't look at my feet shoes" and ultimately support hose year round. Old age has so many gotchas that strip away those little vanities.

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