Shoe Shocked!

I bought some new shoes yesterday. It was the first time I have gone shoe shopping since my pregnancy. I have noticed that many of my shoes felt loose after I went back to work, but I figured that my feet stretched them during my pregnancy. Still, I decided not to buy any more until absolutely necessary. Friday, the sole of my black dress shoes gave out and I didn’t have anything at home to replace them. Off to Payless I went.

I always shop for shoes at Payless for two reasons: the shoes are affordable and they carry my size – 9 ½ Wide. Regular stores either don’t carry wide width shoes or, when they do, they are for the severely elderly and very expensive. Payless always has something for me, even if I have to go up to a size 10 Regular. I found a nice pair of shoes as soon as I got there. I tried them on and I almost fell over when I tried to walk. They were too big. That surprised me. I found the same pair in 9 Wide. Those were too wide. My feet were slipping around inside. Size 9 Regular fit like a glove. To make sure that this was not a fluke – and to take advantage of their BOGO sale, I tried on another pair of dress shoes. Same thing. My feet have shrunk!

If I weren’t wearing said pair of size 9 Regular shoes right now, I would think I was dreaming. I have heard that women’s feet can get larger as a result of pregnancy. I have had the opposite luck. Whoo Hoo! A couple more pregnancies and I’ll be a size 6 Narrow. I can hardly wait. Yes, I am checking to see if Danny is reading this.

There was more joy in my shoe shopping experience yesterday. I had my two munchkins with me. Emma was very interested in helping me pick out shoes. She must pay a lot of attention to the shoes that other women wear. She kept picking shoes out of the box and saying, “Mommy, do you want these? [Becci] [Jeanne] has some just like it!” She reminded me in a way of that American Express commercial with the woman who thinks the stranger is complementing her shoes when she's actually complimenting her twins. Allison was pulling shoes out, too, but not to show them to me. She liked to toss them on the floor and move on to another box. She would put them back when I told her to, but I had to check because she put them wherever it was convenient. Just as I was about ready to pay, Emma told me she had to use the potty. The store does not have a public restroom so I asked the clerk to hold my shoes. She told me that O’Charley’s was probably our best bet. I turned around to leave and Allison was gone. When I called for her, I heard a little chuckle. I walked over to the farthest aisle and there she was holding two twelve packs of men’s socks. Just as I got to her, she dropped on pack of socks and then took off running. She must have figured that two packs would have slowed her down. Boy did she squeal as Emma and I ran after her. If we weren’t in public, I would have been laughing myself silly. That girl loves to be chased. In a chase she can cut corners like the Keystone Cops. It looks like she’s defying gravity. I love it. Thankfully we were able to catch Ally, put the socks back where they belonged and get Emma to a potty on time. I guess I owe O’Charley’s a lunch.