You can tell a lot about someone by the car they drive and shoes they wear. One of my co-workers, who wears Sperry boat shoes, pulled up in a maroon truck with an extra long bed and tinted windows. I immediately imagined him standing on a boat dock with a linen shirt and khaki shorts hauling his boat in from the water. After chatting with him for some time, I learned the picture I built in my head was not far from the truth.
Woman take pride in matching shoes with their outfits. My closet is stacked full of adorable red wedge heels, black suede stilettos, and my favorite leather boots with matching outfits hanging above them. Since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, my favorite shoes cause nothing but flares and pain. My black sneakers cause swelling in my ankles and my cute brown flats cause my right foot to flare every time. And, forget any sort of heel. I fooled myself thinking I could wear my navy, leather wedges to my cousin's wedding. Needless to say, they came off halfway to my car. Yes, I did not even make it from my apartment to my car.
It's been really challenging to find shoes that fit my changing feet. Some mornings, my feet are very swollen and can barely squeeze into any shoe, while other mornings they're so painful I don't want any fabric touching them. This has lead to a shoe shopping battle. Countless hours in and out of stores to find the perfect pair of shoes only to find they don't fit my swollen feet the next morning.
The battle completely changed when I found the holy grail of shoes – Cole Haan. The Nike soles provide cushy support on the days when the one joint in the bottom of my foots will not quit throbbing. The mesh, forgiving fabric on the top of the shoe comfortably wraps around my morning swollen feet. And, they match with every outfit – a navy dress at a wedding or a pair of leggings with a tank. Needless to say, I have more pairs than I care to admit.
