For the Love of Dilemmas: Shoes Hurt My Feet!

I have three female dilemmas:

1. bras that fit (see previous post for more on The Dreaded Bra)

2. comfortable shoes

3. swimwear for grown-ups

Today, I would like to talk about shoes. I love shoes and I am constantly and chronically in search of a pair of comfortable shoes that don’t make me look like I have something wrong with me. If I find any I will repost back here! Over the years I’ve purchased expensive shoes, medium priced shoes, and cheap shoes but unlike Goldilocks I still haven’t found any that are “just right.” I used to think that the more expensive a shoe the more likely it would be comfortable. WRONG! Wrong! Wrong! Plus I have limits to what I am willing to spend. As cute as I think Christian Louboutin shoes are they are about a thousand dollars out of my price range!

I’ve tried Birkenstocks (cute hippie shoes), I’ve tried SAS (not ready to be that old yet), I’ve tried all makes and models of Clarks (rugged shoes), I’ve tried every variety of tennis shoes (comfortable but limited use), Toms (great cause but too flat for my arches)….and about a million other brands. Maybe it isn’t the shoe, maybe it is my weird feet? Perhaps! Here’s an interesting shoe story…

Several years ago I stepped off a curb and broke my left ankle. I was on my way to take my youngest son to his first day of 5th grade at a new school. I simply stepped off the curb and went down to the ground. Boom! My sweet son was really too little to help me up, so I dragged myself up, walked to the car, drove him to school, and walked him to class. I was in a bit of pain but it never occurred to me that my ankle was broken.

After I dropped off my son, I went to the homeless shelter where I volunteer to drop off some food. All this time I am walking on a broken ankle. After the shelter meal delivery I went home and noticed that my left food was beginning to enlarge and turn all kinds of lovely but unusual colors. I called my husband, who was playing golf for a local fundraiser, and he had his phone off. What to do? I called a friend and asked her to pick up my children from school, then called my doctor. The doctor couldn’t see me until late that afternoon. “Okay, sign me up.”

Hours later when I got to my doc’s office she told me that the x-ray machine in her office was broken and she wanted me to go to an orthopedic doc’s office. “Okay, sign me up.” I walked back to my car and drove to the orthopedic doc. I was starting to get a bit tired and the pain was slowly creeping into every part of me. At the orthopedic doc’s office I collapsed in a chair and waited to hear my name called. A nurse took me back and took my shoe off. She x-rayed my foot, moved me to another room, and said, “The doctor will be here shortly.”

It was almost 5pm and I stepped off the curb around 7:30am, so my foot was getting pretty swollen. The doc finally came in the room, noticing that I am alone, and said “How did you get here?” Easy answer, “I drove.” He shook his head and said, “Well, your ankle is broken.” He showed me the x-ray and , sure enough, I could see a big crack clear as day.

The doc told me he was going to put me in a walking cast (ironic?) because they make life easier. I had been walking around on this broken foot all day and it was now a HUGE, ugly, swollen mess. He crammed my foot into the metal and Velcro contraption – it hurt like crazy – and sent me on my way.

What does this story have to do with shoes? I was wearing Teva’s when I fell and that wonderful invention – VELCRO – kept me walking and held everything together all day long! A big thank you to George de Mestral the inventor of Velcro for saving the day!

For my daughters wedding, I decided I needed some ‘adult shoes’ for all the events. My Teva’s and tennis shoes just weren’t quite right. I found a cute pair of black sparkly kitten heels that seemed just right because they would go with everything. The only problem was that my feet ached the whole time I was wearing them. They were so cute but my feet just screamed in pain! After the rehearsal dinner I knew I’d have to wear something else the rest of the weekend.

Kate Spade Keds to the rescue:

This is a picture of us at the wedding both wearing the most comfortable wedding shoes ever invented! I will keep you posted on my search and if I find any truly comfortable shoes I will let you know!