Do you relate to this cartoon? Is this cartoon your life also? I just went through this scenario, trying and buying tennies.
Facts:
My current shoe collection- Shoes hanging on back of bedroom door, in 2 closets, and in the shed (trash bag full…size you use for fall leaf debris).
Total shoes=50 pairs probably and 3/4 are for exercise.
Number of comfortable shoes that I can wear hiking in desert = 1. That’s 1 pair out of 50 that don’t cause blisters and calluses!
Why? Am I a shoe hoarder? Should I join shoe addicts anonymous? Do I live a minimalist lifestyle except for shoes?
All questions I ask myself but the answer lies in the cartoon. It is near impossible to find and buy a new pair of comfortable shoes, without devoting inordinate amounts of time, time that we’d much rather use for PRODUCTIVE activities!
Some of you may remember, especially if you’re from a small town, department stores that had shoe employees solely devoted to our comfort. They’d greet you, sit you down, measure your foot and bring out shoes galore from the back (draped with a curtain). They patiently waited until you said “I love these shoes, wrap them up.” ❤ 💙 💜
Back to current reality…most of my shoes come from gently used shops. I try them on, walk the store floor and if comfortable enough, buy them for $10 or under. Only with extended wear, can I tell if they are creating problems on my feet. Hence, pair after pair is purchased and sits in my closet, worn “occasionally”.
I succumbed to visiting actual shoe stores to try on different sizes. My latest experience was at Dicks Sporting Goods store. The cartoon was in full affect because you need their app on cell phone, can only use the coupon from cell phone, blah blah blah. Clerk at store brought only 3 sizes, before moving onto other customers. I bought one pair and I’ve been wearing them in the house to test.
Now the GOD story…my husband and I went to Goodwill, Dave saw a pair of “wide toe box” shoes on the front counter, I tried them and bought them. This is the perfect make and model!
THANK YOU GOD for providing and loving us. We are your children and need you, every moment. ❤
God Stories for Me, Yippee! 
My beautiful bride of forty-three years and I watched Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” last night, the one where the late, great George C. Scott plays Ebeneezer Scrooge, an annual tradition in our family. Karen tried to put the DVD that we have into the DVD player and follow the instructions that our son had written down that afternoon when he helped her put up our Christmas tree while I was at work on a Saturday. John and Karen did a beautiful job with the tree and with the lighted garland over our fireplace, and Karen was so proud that she had learned once again how to manipulate two the different remote-control boxes to play our DVDs. Why two remotes? Don’t ask. We don’t know. After several increasingly frustrating attempts to play the DVD, we got as far as the title screen with the word “Play” prominently displayed, and when Karen triumphantly pressed “Play,” a note appeared that said, “This command cannot be performed,” or words to that effect. I found the movie on one of the digital subscriptions that we have on our television and purchased “A Christmas Carol” via Amazon for $7.99 . . . probably again, because I think that we purchased it last year too. Oh well, at least now we own the movie . . . several times over.
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My reaction to your story…shaking my head and chuckling slightly. And feeling lots of empathy! And your story is ironic bc that is the exact movie I suggested my husband and I watch last night! I’ve watched every other version and bought George C Scott’s DVD. Best one! Glad that you didn’t let the nutty complexity foil your goal. Thank you for sharing! ❤
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Ugh… Restaurants that require you to order via the app when you are in the store.
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Ugh! And what about this qr code that were being told to use?! My reaction…I will go elsewhere, to places that don’t force technology down my throat. 😃
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EXACTLY!!!
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What frustrates me are store discounts that you have to create an account to get. When it comes to shoes, I need a church pair, a casual pair, a hiking/walking pair, a gym pair, and a ratty work pair. That’s it. You’re a hoot, Marla. I’m glad you were blessed with a perfect pair of Goodwill shoes!
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Hi Nancy! Agreed. I have about 22 pages of websites, user names and passwords! To avoid “decision fatigue”, I’m swaying more and more towards any companies that make things simple. Do you find comfortable shoes?
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Yes, my hiking shoes are Merrell and my gym shoes are Skechers Arch Fit without anything binding across the front of the shoe. 🙂
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God’s provision for all our needs!
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HE loves us!
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We do need an account for everything nowadays and remembering what password I used for each one is altogether another issue.
Glad you were blessed with a pair that was perfect for you at goodwill.
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“I have about 22 pages of websites, user names and passwords!” That’s too funny! 😂 I know what you mean, we probably have more!!
I need a pair of comfortable dress shoes that I can’t seem to find. I have problems with one leg and also with my other foot so dress shoes are harder to find for me. It’s tedious to have to buy shoes online without trying them on. Quality control is poor so shoe sizes aren’t always accurate. I want to be prepared in case my granddaughter gets engaged, and not go to her celebration in sneakers!!! 😂 I miss good old fashioned shoe stores. The Lord will provide. 🙏🙌 That’s my current shoe story.
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It’s like you have to tell your granddaughter that she can’t get engaged bc you can’t find shoes. Haha. Seriously, the best solution for us is a company that designs custom shoes. Wonder if they exist?!
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Hilarious and relatable, my friend. I took a big bag of “stuff” to Goodwill this weekend. The funny thing is that I originally purchased some of it there (they no longer have dressing rooms) and it still had their tags on it. Their return policy is very limiting – and I consistently miss the window. Also, when something is only $2.99, it is hard to rationalize the gas and time to take it back. Pretty good business model, I guess. They get to sell the same items over and over again. Maybe this is why we see Goodwill (and other thrift) stores popping up all over the place!
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True about their business model! Phoenix has senior day, 55+, on Tuesdays, 25% off, in case you didn’t know. 😀
Did you get snow yet?
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We’ve had dusting. So far, no shoveling! 😉
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