A Pile of Shoes
Posted in Dreaming on August 22, 2011
It is just a pile of shoes.
Some were expensive and some were on sale. Some were worn just once and others were worn many times. One pair walked me down the stage as I received my Teacher of the Year award in 2008. Another pair took me out to dinner with my husband. One pair had the privilege of making an appearance in two different weddings.
These are just a handful of the many bridesmaid shoes that I have had to purchase over the years. My husband and I were one of the first few to get married and after that came a deluge of weddings for the next ten years. After standing up next to dear friends or family more times than can be counted on both of my hands, I have quite the collection of bridesmaid shoes.
Each pair of shoes not only represents a beautiful wedding but also an exciting adventure. Six weeks after I delivered my second child, I left my brave husband at home with our three year old and the baby and flew from Florida to San Francisco to help one of my best friends from high school celebrate her big day. Another wedding created a trip to Panama City where my brother-in-law married one of the most wonderful women I know. Even though I don’t have a pair of shoes for the wine country wedding (we walked barefoot through the grass), looking at the shoes reminds me of the time spent with my husband driving from one winery to the next. That is one of the first few vacations my husband and I took in our early years of our marriage.
The last wedding I was in, I wore those pretty little gold shoes from Nine West. The reception was at a beautiful bed and breakfast in Downtown Pensacola. That night, after the dancing had finished, I tossed those shoes in my suitcase and flew to Oahu to celebrate my ten year anniversary with my husband. The shoes never did make an appearance on that trip. My flip flops were more suited for our dinners on the beach but every time I shoved the shoes out of my way to find a shirt or a pair of shorts, they made me smile.
I have since retired my bridesmaid shoes. As I clean out my closet I still smile when I think of each adventure that happened all because I was walking down the aisle…again…and again.
Visit Mara over at Mother of All Trips to see what everyone is dreaming about today!
Darn it! I should have called you when I needed silver shoes for a friends wedding 2 weeks ago. I now have a pair I will never wear again. Unless the next wedding I am in requires them. BUT I do have some amazing memories in those shoes, along with a closet of other ones. Shoes really can tell the story of our lives. Thanks for sharing a little of yours with us