Flashback to my favorite shoes

I am a flip flop girl. Mostly. I very rarely have socks on, and when I do it's because my toes are so frigid I am afraid I am going to lose one to frostbite. I love bare feet. I remember as a child in Phoenix running out to the ice cream truck in bare feet and hopping up and down on the sidewalk because it was probably 200 degrees. As long as I can remember I've had to suffer for my love of bare feet. Now I deal with often cracked heels and am constantly sanding and sloughing my feet to enjoy their beauty....because lets face it: bare feet are not always pretty if they are left unattended. When I had children I had to give up my pedicures (sigh) but in all reality THAT is the way to go.
Love of bare feet aside when I was in high school and then college THE shoes were Dr. Martens boots, you know the ones I'm talking about with yellow laces all around the sides. Not the most attractive when I think back, but in the day they were the bomb. Seriously. I of course never had any Dr. Martens because there were 7 kids in my family and my dad was a school teacher. Asking for a $100 pair of shoes was pretty much like asking for a car, or to go to Harvard on my parents dime. Just not gonna happen. I was okay with that....because I knew someday (worldly as I was) I would get some....I had high hopes.
Well....in February of 2000 I was walking around the mall with my new, super cute boyfriend Mike. He happened to go to the Naval Academy where you're not allowed to have a job but they give the first year students a MASSIVE spending stipend of about $150 a month. (I know, it's huge) I'd actually like to have one of those now. So, he didn't have much money, especially since most, if not all of the money we both made in those days paid for gas travelling the road between Philadelphia and Annapolis, and dating when we were in either city...movies, dinners, these things add up. I saw these Doc Marten clog shoes and I LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEDDD them. MY heart skipped a beat. I had to have them. It was love at first sight for me, and I'm sure the shoes felt the same way. After all, I did have very pretty feet. Price tag at the Nordstrom outlet: $59. I would come back on payday and buy them. Later that day, still in the mall I went into a girlie store, or Mike wanted to go to an electronics store, or something. For some reason we split up. When we met up again...he had in his hands and Nordstrom bag....and a big box inside. My heart skipped a couple of beats and to not risk having a full on heart attack I figured I better see what was in that box. You guessed it, my shoes. The man I fell in love with at first sight only about two months earlier bought me my first pair of Docs. I could barely breathe I was so excited. Dream. Come. True.
Every time I've worn those shoes I've thought of Mike....and you know what? They're about 4 months shy of being 9 years old. Worth every penny if you ask me. When I was taking the kids out this week to run errands and it was 50 degrees and windy as sin outside I knew just the fall shoes to wear. They still look good, and I still love the buyer more than any words could say. I'm sure we will all live happily ever after.