LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

HEATHER: I look gorgeous in high heels. Everyone looks gorgeous in high heels. But my feet hurt. My little toe was always crushed. I had a bunion. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t think. I had to choose- heels or think. I chose think. So I bought some chic flat shoes. I made a lot of mistakes. I bought these turquoise blue Marc Jacobs flats that the salesman talked me into because he said they had “toe cleavage”. I’d never heard of toe cleavage. Anyway, I realized that chic flat shoes are almost as uncomfortable as heels, and don’t do that amazing thing for your legs. Fortunately, at just about that time, I met an unbelievably stylish woman who was wearing Birkenstocks. When I was in High School, I was a Doc Martens girl, and Birkenstocks symbolized everything I didn’t want to be. They were incredibly uncool and the girls who wore them had big dirty toes that stuck out the ends. You absolutely could not be friends with a person who wore Birkenstocks. But this stylish woman wore her Birks with baggy cords and a Comme de Garcons sleeveless shirt. It was a revelation. The next day I went out and got a pedicure and a pair- dark brown, standard style. I realized that Birkenstocks were actually the coolest, punk-est shoes a girl could wear. They were a statement: “Look, these are my feet, we all have them. Okay?” My husband had a slightly different opinion. He hated my Birkenstocks. He said they made me look like a troll from Middle Earth. And once, when the Yankees were in the playoffs, he made me take them off before coming into the same room as the TV so I wouldn’t hex the team. After we split up, you’d think I’d have stuck with my Birkenstocks, but no. I started wearing heels again. Oh the pain, I can’t think. But I look gorgeous. I had to choose- heels or think. I chose heels.