A Cinderella Moment

So—does anyone else struggle with shoes? I would love to have cobblers come back into fashion. You know, like the cobbler and the elves. Those wonderful folks who make shoes that actually fit your feet.

I have a wide front part of my foot, and a more narrow heel. So shoes that fit decently (never perfectly yet) are often tough to find, especially dress shoes. And guess what I wear to work EVERYDAY? Dress shoes. Lovely.

Right before returning to work I searched all over to find some dress shoes that wouldn’t hurt most the time I wore them, and would also stay on my feet. Believe it or not, tricky. After much agony, some prayer, a lot of stores and no luck, I finally found some shoes. (At 9:30 pm the Saturday before I started work on Monday!) I was so thrilled, and so grateful. (Yes, we are only talking about shoes here, but I have to wear something to work, and much to my feet’s chagrin, crocs, keens, flip flops, and tennis shoes just won’t cut it with a suit.) God answered my prayers and I found shoes that not only fit pretty well, but were also cute! (yea!)

Well, I guess they weren’t quite as perfect as I thought in the store (when I was feeling rather desperate.) So a few days ago I was in a major hurry. I had a presentation to give in the morning in Ogden, then had to drive back and meet my sister and brother-in-law for lunch before my first staff meeting at 1 pm. Star and Kenny (with 1 year old LeGrand) were in town for our family reunion and we were all looking forward to an enjoyable time together over lunch. Didn’t quite happen. I ended up having 15 minutes for lunch. Totally scarfed my food , said goodbyes and dashed out the door and up the stairs to make it to our staff meeting. Can’t be late for the first one back!

As I hurried up the stairs, my right shoe flew off of my foot, went through the gap between the railing and the floor, soared into the open stairwell and landed on the level below. Oops. A woman 5 steps down stopped and looked at that shoe and then up at me, then back at my shoe. Then a group of people came walking to the base of the stairs, passing my shoe. They all looked at that darling black dress shoe, then up at me, then at the shoe and me again. What could I do? I shrugged my shoulders and said, “It’s a Cinderella moment.” Everyone laughed and someone brought my shoe up with them. (So kind.)

P.S. My staff meeting started 30 minutes late. Classic.