Adapting To Shoes

As we are in the throes of a heat wave, the calendar says it is fall. My best friend, who happens to be a damn Yankee was commenting on the old adage of not wearing white shoes after Labor Day. I said, I don’t, and she laughed. She said you still wear sandals. Yes indeed I do. As long as it’s 95, I think I will.

I’m not a flip-flop kind of person. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not passing any judgment, it’s just not a shoe I’ve ever enjoyed wearing. Of course, I doubt I’ve ever tried on some of the flip-flops on the market now. They can cost $50 and more. I think of flip-flops as those $1 kind you wear to the beach to keep your feet from burning in the sand. That’s about the only time I wear flip flops.

But I have amassed a collection of sandals. Mind you, none have a piece that goes between your toes. That’s one of the things I can’t stand about flip flops. But, as I step away from my white sandals, and into fall, I find myself some days wearing plain ole shoes. You know, your foot is fully enclosed.

Well I did that all day yesterday, and when I got home, boy was I ready to shed my shoes. They’re not uncomfortable shoes, but my feet are used to breathing (if feet actually breathe).

As I was thinking about letting my feet breathe, I was reminded that when I was younger, I had an urge to change clothes completely when I got home…out of my uncomfortable work clothes to casual house wear. Not so much anymore.

I was talking with someone the other day about how casual our world has become, and I have to admit, what I wear to work generally is fairly comfortable. I don’t wear uncomfortable clothes much at all. It it’s too tight, it can go to the thrift store. (Or if it’s just a little too tight, I’m sure I’ll lose weight and fit into it one day so it stays in the closet or drawer forever.)

Now, with the stretchy material they use in so many clothes these days, I can’t say the same about it if it’s too loose. Most of my clothes fit when I put them on in the morning, but most of my pants stretch out by evening. But, I can deal with pulling my pants up repeatedly, better than squeezing into them.

Like many, I am looking forward to changing to fall clothes—if it ever cools off. But, unlike many, I don’t do very much moving of clothes by the seasons. When you get my age, time flies so fast, by the time I get summer put away, it’s spring again. And, I have a big closet, and lots of room to store t-shirts in my drawers. And, lets face it, you wear t-shirts year round. And, when you live in Georgia, sometimes you need short pants at Christmas.

I do move a few things from my closet to the closet in the spare bedroom, which is another story for another day. Do other empty-nesters have a whole room that collects stuff? Half my Christmas stuff never got put away last year…it’s still in the spare room. That’s okay, maybe I’ll really get my Christmas cards out early like I plan every year.

But, then again, I don’t think I bought any at the end of last year, so I must go shopping first. I keep saying I want to put Christmas out early, so I can take all that stuff I no longer use to the thrift store…maybe this will be the year.

And, by Christmas, I’ll be used to wearing closed-toe shoes, as well as long pants, and possibly even a sweater or sweatshirt.