Monday, November 1, 2010

to help or not to help...

so today . . . i am beginning to see why people will spend a ridiculous amount of money for a pair of toms shoes--aside from the humanitarian reasons...

i am not a fan of toms shoes. i know that for every pair of shoes they sell, they donate a pair to a needy child. and i admire that. but if we really want to put shoes on children's feet, maybe instead of buying a 38th pair of shoes for ourselves, we should donate the money and give several pairs of shoes to needy children! besides they are ugly--the shoes, not the children.

diandra, however, is a fan. she got her first pair several months ago. they were olive green, and she raved about how comfortable they were. she wore them all the time. then she bought a gold pair to wear when she shoots weddings. and then a black pair for their versatility.

and three lucky children got new shoes. yay!!!

but toms shoes are ugly. they come in a myriad of colors, but the style is always the same--pieced canvas uppers in a squarish shape with a thin rubbery sole. they are not cute or stylish. they are plain and flat. and i'll bet a huge percentage of people under the age of 30 have more than one pair...

diandra's black pair finally got dirty enough that she decided they should be washed. i didn't know they could be washed, and i admit i was a little uneasy tossing them into the washing machine. but they looked ok when they came out, and i thought they were fine. until today.

today diandra said, "mom, i need you to do something for me." i did not immediately say ok, because "something" covers a very broad range of tasks. so instead i said, "oh?" that is my standard non-committal reply. "yes," she said, "i need you to wear these shoes for me."

my first thought? YAY!! because i have been the happy recipient of more than one pair of boots from my darling daughter. and not just boots--my favorite jeans came from her, as well as several tops and jackets that she no longer wanted. in fact, i could probably just "shop" in her closet and never have to go to the mall again...

then she said, "when we washed these black tom's shoes, i think they shrunk a little bit and now they are too tight for my feet. but if you wear them..." and now i am thinking, "ok, i am going to have my own pair of ugly tom's shoes," but she continued, "... then they will stretch out a bit, and then i can wear them and they will be fine!" oh.

talk about a roller coaster of emotions...

i put the shrunken canvas shoes on my feet, and they fit me perfectly. and i was surprised to find that they were very comfortable--lightweight uppers and cushy inside. but they were still ugly. there is no way to get around that--no matter how comfortable they are, they are still ugly.

and yet, they are starting to grow on me. i've been wearing them around all evening, you know, just to help diandra out. i find that i like the way they feel on my feet. they are comfortable. they are flexible. they almost feel like i'm not wearing any shoes at all! i'm thinking that maybe if i attached a rhinestone pin to add a little pizazz... because, you know, if they don't stretch out enough, then they will be too tight for diandra...

maybe the olive green ones need to be washed as well.

;)

2 comments:

Carroll said...

You're right about that! They are sure ugly. But the older I get the better comfy looks. Just maybe they'd be the type of thing the kids wouldn't even notice. And you could always bedazzael them!
Love you!

mom said...

comfort over looks. Somedays that's what a person needs..