I am tempted to take a photo of my naked rear end and post it here because it is so colorful. The other day I was in the back room of the shop trying to plug in a lamp. In order to do so, I had to unplug some fans I don’t use that were hidden behind a ladder. Somehow I ended up falling backward, pulling the lamp down on top of me, landing hard on the concrete floor on my butt, and then hitting my head on the concrete. I lay there on the floor wondering if I were badly hurt when two little girls who were shopping with their mother ran in with concern on their faces. “Are you okay?”
I had to smile and act as if I were fine. I wiped the tears from my eyes and hopped up off the floor, my head swimming. “I’m okay! See?” I didn’t want the girls to be scared, but I wiped the back of me head and l checked my hand to see if there was blood on it. It was dry, and I thanked God who had spared me once again from splitting my head open on a hard surface. The big pain was in my butt, though, and I had trouble sitting down on the stool behind the counter even though i needed to rest for a bit and recover.
Even after some time had passed I couldn’t figure out why I had fallen. I hadn’t tripped over anything and the floor was perfectly flat. Finally it came to me. I had fallen out of my Birkenstocks because they are way too big on me, and as I came down on the edge of the shoe, I lost my balance and fell over.
It has finally occurred to me that I frequently wear shoes that don’t fit. I have very narrow feet but I am attracted to wide shoes. because they are so much more appealing. Rather than limit myself to narrow shoes, I buy cute shoes that don’t stay on my feet. Every single bad fall I have taken has been while wearing shoes that are too big.
I fell outside my old store a few years ago while wearing Dansko clogs. I had no business wearing these shoes because not only were they too wide for my feet, but they also had me trying to maintain my balance on soles that were elevated and wobbly. I loved those clogs though because they made me a bit taller and they just slid on over my thick socks. After that fall, I read about how many falls are Dansko-related and threw away the clogs.
My fall in Mexico last year was while wearing Crocs. I bought them because I find them useful at the beach, but because they are so wide, I am very unsteady on my feet and fall on the sand and everywhere else. Come in to Chifferobe if you want a pair of slightly sandy Crocs.
I am at last adding up the facts and realizing that if I want to be steadier on my feet, I have to wear shoes that fit. One would think that that would be obvious, but one would be wrong.
Bottom line, I have placed both Birks and Crocs in the shop and will find shoes that fit even if they are not cute. I will check my closet and do further pruning, so wait and watch!
