May 1, 2008 @ 2:03 pm | Filed under: It's a Girl Thing,Uniquely Me

“Cinderella is proof that a pair of shoes can change your life.”

I first saw them a month ago, in passing, and walked on by. Although – I have to admit – I did turn around once and look back.

I saw them again two weeks ago and, this time, picked them up and got a closer look. Big mistake. It was love, or at least intense interest, at first touch. But the price tag caused me to swallow hard and put them down again.

Except I went back yet again, and – this time – decided to try them on. I’ve only felt this way a couple of other times about a pair of shoes. And once with a purse – my Coach bag. But there are just times when nothing hits the spot for a woman quiet like a great pair of shoes. Particularly the shoes that practically scream out your name.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We have no 6 1/2 in stock.”

“Sevens?” Maybe I could make them work…

“Seven-and-a-half is the smallest we have. I could call around to the other stores…”

“Sure, that would be great.” I stood at the counter and listened as she made the calls, but no luck. My shoe was no where to be found in the metroplex.

Ordinarily I would have taken it as a sign by this point that this pair of shoes was just not meant to be mine. But somehow I knew that wasn’t the case. For someone like me, who doesn’t get a thrill out of shopping and who is only very rarely drawn to a piece of clothing or accessories, you just know when something is right for you.

This shoe…needed to be mine.

“Ma’am, may I order this shoe for you?” This was the manager of the department who’d overheard the last part of my conversation with the sales clerk.

And that is how this great pair of shoes came to be mine. All mine.

My instincts were right.

When I slip them on, I feel… great. Especially right now, when it feels good to remember that not only am I somebody’s mother, these shoes are a four-inch stilletto reminder that I am indeed…a woman.