Dancing Shoes

Hello and welcome! I hope that this week has brought you joy in one way or another. I find that I’m learning to appreciate the simple joys in life much more than I used to. If you look for them, they are there, even if buried deep in the darkest day you can always find something. 

Getting dressed up is something that I’ve always enjoyed. If you’ve been around, you probably have read that I love fashion, and I love to break away from the norm somewhat with my style. Last weekend we were invited to a charity dinner where I was told we could get pretty fancy if we wanted to. In the past few years there have not been many occasions to dress up for, so it was an exciting challenge to come up with a fancy outfit. For weeks my cousin, sister and I compared notes and planned. All part of the fun!

There is a little anxiety for me when it comes to dressing up and finding a shoe that can accommodate a fancy outfit that I like. I definitely can’t do a high heel due to balance issues and lack of leg strength. Flats don’t work because of my foot drop, and the list goes on and on. I guess I’m the Goldilocks of shoes. Not by choice that’s for sure. I’ve always dreamed of effortlessly walking around in high heels haha. I guess one sometimes longs for silly things too. 

I found the perfect outfit, but was of course lacking in the shoe department. I have a pair of  black boots that I could have thrown on with it, but it felt like I needed more to go with my “fancy” outfit. Somewhere along the way I saw these sparkly boots. I mean they were ALL country music singer kind of sparkle. I have a love for Dolly Parton that runs long and deep, and somehow, I felt connected to her when I saw these boots. 😁  I checked the heel height and it looked like they could work, but it’s always a gamble. I know immediately when I slip on a shoe if it’s going to work or not. 

The shoes arrived and I opened them up, and WOW! These were a statement. When the light hit them, they sparkled! When I showed them to my sister, cousin and my husband they all said, “yep those look like you!” So, long story short, I was able to walk in them a short distance and felt they would be safe since I would be in my scooter or sitting a majority of the night. It was a shoe match.

Needless to say, a shoe like that catches the eye of those around you, and I got a lot of “wow those boots” type of comments. People often stare when I’m in public anyway, so I thought, well good they have something to stare at! 

Dinner was over and they music started. The dance floor slowly filled up and everyone was having a great time. I always loved to dance with my friends in high school and college and even into early adulthood, when opportunities to do so presented themselves. I, of course, was a little self-conscious, but I always danced anyway and loved it. I knew that evening I wouldn’t be able to go out and stand alone and dance. My strength and balance have declined since my early dancing days. So, we danced and sang in our seats for awhile, and that was fun too! 

Near the end of the night we all decided we wanted to join the fun, so I asked Jamie if he’d help me dance. I wasn’t able to let go, so it wasn’t like old times, but we still had a blast! I wished I could spin around on the dance floor with my sparkly boots. The last song played was Time of My Life, you know the one from Dirty Dancing, iconic. Jamie looked at me and said “I’m going to pick you up so you can spin around.” I of course said “no, you will hurt yourself!”, but he insisted. He picked me up and spun me around and around so fast. It was exhilarating! It truly was the moment I had always dreamed of doing on my own two feet. I could feel my sparkly boots in the air as we spun in circles and the pure joy on my face was hard to wipe away. I’m so glad that I got up and danced. If I wouldn’t have, I would have missed that moment that will forever be imprinted in my mind. Dancing when it feels like everyone is watching takes humble courage, but when life presents the opportunity, just wear the sparkly boots and dance! You will be so glad you did. 💚