Strappy Shoes and "Clompen"!

Several weeks ago I finally found a mother-of-the-bride dress that seemed to be right for me.....it's not too old-ladyish, and yet suitable for someone my age. As I stood there in the bridal shop modeling the dress in the big mirror, the very young store owner (in her 20's) cheerily chirped, "You'll want to get some strappy shoes to wear with it." Whoa. The word "strappy" reverberated around in my head, meeting with silent laughter from my feet. I've never worn "strappy" shoes, not even when I was young. And nowadays, my 48-year-old feet are veiny and calloused, so I'm definitely not inclined towards "strappy" styles. But since finding the dress, I've been weighing the options......the dress is floor-length, meaning my feet won't show much anyway, so I decided to be daring and try looking at "strappy" footwear.

Last Tuesday morning, after a really fun dentist appointment in which a cavity was filled, I, along with a numb mouth and chin, headed to the mall to look for "strappy" shoes. At Penneys and Younkers I scanned the racks and tables of shoes, trying several styles on. One black, strappy little slip-on was actually quite comfortable, so I bought it. The price was so good that I decided to look for a second more comfortable and stable pair to wear at the reception and dance. I'm not into high heels.....stability is important to me. So I found a very comfy pair of Clark's slip-ons for that. There were many racks of clearance shoes, so since I hadn't shopped for shoes for quite awhile, I browsed through them and ended up buying two more pairs of very comfortable clog types to wear with jeans and skirts in the fall and winter. I just love the easy-on, easy-off, clog styles. Anymore, my walking shoes are the only ones I still have to sit down and pull on and tie.

Speaking of clogs, they always makes me think of the Dutch wooden shoes. Those people were smart to make shoes like that. My older daughter spent the fall semester of 2001 in the Netherlands (she had been there only two weeks when the 9/11 attacks took place......someday I'll write a post about her interesting experiences there), and she came home with a Dutch/English dictionary. One time I happened to look up the English word "walk", and in Dutch it is "clompen". I thought that was so cute! "Clompen"......that's exactly what you do when you walk.....clomp, clomp, clomp!

I enjoyed my "clompen" out in the warm sunshine on our farm this morning! Hopefully, anyone reading this will have a chance to go "clompen" today! It's good for you!!