Functional, hard-working feet. Who would think that what you put on them could be a form of self-expression? My first shoes, brown, high-tops had me learning to tie my first bow. I remember loving daddy's attention showing me over and over how bows were done. Even then, I knew my shoes weren't very pretty, but, as a little kid, I didn't have any say in it because they were to support my growing bones. Mom soon began decking out her girls with new shoes and my feet became a point of pride---if not vanity. My passion for shoes never dimmed. In junior high I realized I could get my younger sister to break in new shoes for me so, no matter the shoe's low price or weird style, I never suffered a moment's discomfort below the ankle. Saddle shoes with pretty pink soles, penny loafers in brown and black ballet flats were everyday basics. Sneakers were considered akin to an old lady's orthopedics as they had yet to have their moment and were barely ever worn beyond a few hours a week at gym classes.
As a graduating senior I was awarded a minor savings bond for some academic achievement or another. I immediately cashed it in for far less than it would later become and bought, you guessed it---shoes. While honored in studies, my true outstanding achievement was in shoe shopping. I might have been a wet-behind-the-ears eighteen year old, but my steps first into the adult world post-graduation were at least stylish.
Years later, I had the opportunity to go to Toronto to the Museum of Shoes, an entire 3 story warehouse with displays of footwear through the ages. I looked city-sleek, tripping along in stylish ankle boots. The geisha styles resonated most intensely because those boots I wore were torture and my feet were killing me!
Tell your memories in A Journal for celebrating Shoes, a compact little book intended for that sole purpose. I've no doubt you have some dillies, so get them down on the page. If you need a gentle kick, prompts appear throughout, so get comfy, put on your prettiest slippers and start writing about and sketching your favorite shoes and their stories.
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