Conversation With Myself

by Donna Swagerty Shreve

Darn, it is raining again and will be for a few days. That will certainly limit my footwear selection. I only have one choice: my clunky, ugly, huge buckled boots. My already large size elevens look to be at least to be a size fifteen! Maybe I can find a cheap alternative.

Off I go to Target where I can usually find several cheap choices in my size. The good news presented itself in the form of a shoes sale. The bad news was there was chaos in the shoe aisles. Shoes were strewn all over. The first challenge was just to find my size. I had all of three choices! I found some comfortable walking shoes that I felt lucky to obtain. The only choice in boots narrowed down to a pair of ankle high black boots with a high heel. The tall sturdy heel convinced me it could be the right choice but it had substantial height, nonetheless.

I tried them on with enthusiasm and thrilled that they fit. I walked in them a bit and remembered how it felt to be three inches taller. I have always been tall but I learned to being a stand out in a crowd. I had hated my height as a teenager as most boys were shorter. A close girlfriend of mine stood ten inches shorter. But gradually I learned to enjoy my elevated status.

So over the decades, I shrunk the expected half inch a decade. I am much more in the normal range at five feet eight inches. Now with these styling boots, I could stand close to six feet.

 I bought them and decided to wear them to my evening commitment. By chance, we had to park two blocks away from our destination. Reality now set in. What I used to do with ease was now a definite effort. Your speed is limited in such ridiculous contraptions and quickly my two friends had left me behind. They marched on in their practical shoes leaving their wobbling friend several paces in the rear. 

I had a decision to make: did I want to be a fashionable giant or did I accept being a comfortable shorter old lady? When I arrived at the house, I removed my boots and spent the evening in my comfortable stocking feet.

What was I thinking? Next time I pretend to be any thing but what age I am, I will revisit my high-heeled wonders in my closet and remember my folly. Fortunately the boots were inexpensive but I leave them in my closet as a reminder.

435 words

1/17/17