Oh, my new leather sandals, how beautiful you are.
With your dark brown leather and the little triangles cut out. The band that stretches across my foot. My friend told me you were ugly and that I shouldn’t like you, but I knew the second I saw you that you belong on my feet. I thought of all the times I would wear you and all the place we would visit and all the fun we could have. With you on my feet, nothing could stop me. I would be a gladiator warrior and I would strike intense amount of loathing in the hearts of my enemies and my new confidence would amass regret in the hearts of the boys who had wronged me.
But I knew when I got you out to wear you to work the next day that I would be the one regretting something and not my ex. My foot hung off the back of you, my toe was perched precariously on the edge of you, and there was nearly an inch of extra room in the front. Tighten the back, I thought to myself, just knowing that would solve all of my problems. It didn’t fix anything and I angrily left the house with you on my feet. I spent hours trying to make you work; pushing my feet to the front and nearly tearing my big toe off my foot for all the pressure I put on it. I would stop and wriggle my foot around so it was situated as perfectly as it would sit. I would stop walking to tap the edge of you on the floor, pushing the leather strap between my toes. By the time I got home, I had a red mark on my foot from where I had tried to push my foot further toward the end. Not only that, but my feet started to hurt soon after I put you on.
Rather than make me feel confident, you hurt me and made me worry about how I looked. You made me self-conscious and feel like I should hide my feet, rather than flaunt them like I did in my other sandals. Those tragically broke and I have to replace them with you, it seems. Not that you aren’t great, it’s just…I regret buying you. Honestly, if I hadn’t already worn you twice, I would be taking you back to the store to get my money back.
So, as I throw you off and enter my house, vowing to buy a different pair of sandals, I thank you for being there for me in my time of need. Lord only knows what would have happened to my feet if you had not been there for me to wear. And you did add a little “oomf” to whatever outfit I was wearing. But I’m afraid you won’t be seeing the light of day for a while.
