This says a lot about my mother--she is a shoe fanatic like no one else I've ever met. It also says a lot about my dad. He took her shoe shopping, OK? Not every husband is that willing to take one for the team.
I remember her coming home with LOTS of shoes. She LOVED them. She wore them out dancing (see a familial tradition, anywhere?) and then she stopped going out. Dad hated dancing, and she didn't want to dance without him, so the shoes sat in the closet.
We called it The Shrine. She would sit in the closet and look at her shoes.
So anyway, flash forward. A couple of years ago, Mom's knee gave out. Really, she needs a replacement. She has been putting it off. But even if she gets a new knee, she can't wear those shoes again. She is stuck in flat, sensible shoes, for the rest of her life.
She cries about the shoes. She doesn't care that her knee hurts, she cares that she can't wear her sexy heels any more.
Every few months, Mom brings me a few pairs of shoes to try out. If they're not too small, they're mine. Otherwise, they go back to the Shrine.
Tonight I am going out to see ACME BLUES COMPANY OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT THEY ARE SO AWESOME I WILL DANCE MY ASS OFF.....
OK, but anyway, tonight I am going out. I pulled out one of Mom's pairs of NYC shoes and slipped them on. A bit loose. So I tried to adjust the heel strap.
The leather was gummy. Remember, these shoes are 31 years old. The strap broke. Dry rot.
My mother kept those shoes in the Shrine for probably 25 years. Bringing them to me was HARD for her. And now they are in the trash.
Don't let your fun dry rot, ok? Wear your stilettos while you can.
UPDATE: ACME was fantastic, as always, and I had a blast, as you knew I would. I wore a second pair of Mom's NYC shoes, and then the band played Rattlesnake Shake and I danced so hard the shoes fell apart. Spent the rest of the night in my stocking feet. I think the band felt pretty good about making music so good a woman would kill her shoes, dancing.
8 comments:
Oh this was sad! Great motto though! Dancing is good for the soul, and I haven't done nearly enough of that for quite a while - you've inspired me :o)
Girl, you must have been dancing like a mad woman! Love it!
First of all, those WERE gorgeous shoes. Second of all, do your feet hurt? I couldn't even walk in shoes that tall, even though I would really, really want to. I would SO fall down! :)
Penelope-Yes, you must. Go have fun!
Andrea--You know how there are a bunch of women on the dance floor who kind of just shuffle and sway? And there is one chick who is COMPLETELY FLIPPING OUT? If Tina Turner were white and uncoordinated, she would be me. I may not be the most graceful thing out there, but I OWN it.
PPS--They were very comfortable, right up to the moment they split. Even then, it was kind of a "Hmmm...my shoes are loose..." feeling.
You have to work your way up to the heels. These are 4.5 inches tall, which is about what I usually dance in, these days. Would love to try something higher, but taller shoes than that are hard to find.
Except for my hooker shoes (which I posted on the blog recently, but then the picture disappeared and I don't know why). They are EIGHT INCH PLATFORM STILETTOS and I feel like the Queen of Raunch, when I wear them. I can dance in them, too, a little. But the first time I put them on, I took 2 steps and fell flat. on. my. face. Takes practice.
And no, I am Not Allowed to wear those shoes out of the house.
2 pairs of dead shoes in one day - that is a tragedy! I am trying to force myself to be a high heel wearer because they're so much cuter than flats. My knee doesn't usually approve but I do it anyway!
Honey, we have another name for hooker shoes and though I could post it, it may offend some of your more gen-teel readers. Just know that it goes right along with what hookers do and you'll figure out the name quickly.
Andrea--
Well, up to a certain point, while shoes are sexy but, you know, not necessarily something a professional woman could write off as a business expense, I call them an "F.M. shoe". Is THAT what you mean?
Because if it is, I think my more genteel readers have read it before. I think, actually, my more genteel readers don't bother reading after one polite check-in.
So, baby, let it go on the record that Christine LOVES "fuck me" shoes. They are a wardrobe essential. And especially fun when dancing next to one of your flirting buddies.
Because there is a certain segment of the male population who is vocal in their appreciation of a high heel. And I lovvvvves those men.
Yeppers. That is what I meant!
Hee hee hee hee
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