Unfortunately, for almost my entire life, I have been embarrassed about my mom's shoes. From photos I have seen I think that before she had children my mother had style and good taste in clothing. But life wore her down and high heels are not the shoe of choice for chasing three children around. She would settle on a pair of canvas tennis shoes and wear them until they fell apart. Generally those shoes would be splattered with paint or wallpaper paste or even concrete from time spent helping my dad repair and "flip" homes. She had very narrow feet that were difficult to fit and in later years she had a lot of arthritis pain in her toes. At least ten years ago she got a pair of green elastic sandals that became her go-to shoes, even in cold weather. They were bright green, two sizes too short and a size too wide. After a while they became worn and dirty and well, embarrassing. Twice I took her shoe shopping and she came home with replacements that she rarely wore. Last Christmas I special ordered a pair of shoes that were made for people who have trouble putting on shoes. Heavily padded warm shoes that she said were comfortable but they never became her favorite.
Last Wednesday mom passed away. Even though she had been on a long decline it still felt sudden. We buried her in the new "comfy" shoes and I put the green sandals in the trash. I was too embarrassed to send green shoes to the mortuary. Sorry mom.
On this Mother's Day it seems appropriate to consider the steps a mother makes during her lifetime. Steps taken in the care and feeding of children. Shoes worn working on projects that interested her husband a lot more than it interested herself. I wish her steps could have been easier.
No matter how expected your mother's death was, it's still a huge loss. You wrote beautifully about her. I'm so sorry for your loss, Linda.
Posted by: Jeannette | May 13, 2015 at 07:31 PM