Once upon a time

You enter a room dressed in a rock star outfit. 

Hair looking gorgeous 

Lipstick in check

Gorgeous kick ass shoes (aka) HEELS 👠

I will start by simply saying ‘back in the day’ I rocked heels. Maybe not exactly rocked them, but wore them for a few hours at a time and could function reasonably well. 

I transitioned to flats or a simple wedge after baby #1 and #2 – thinking I would one day reunite with those beautiful red-soled heels my husband bought me for my birthday. Oh, and after baby #3…you must read to find out.

 There was a time, once upon a time, long, long ago that I used heels and comfortable in the same sentence.

My heels have been waiting patiently in boxes in my closet. I’ve gotten rid of a few given most of my days are spent in comfortable sneaks. And I have to be honest, in 1992, I took off my wedding heels at the reception and danced the night away in tretorns I bedazzled a b. And most keynotes I give, I confidently traverse the stage in sneakers with a little bling.

But I still yearn for some comfortable heels.

Give a woman the right pair of heels, and she can conquer the world. – Marilyn Monroe

Ladies, you can relate, right?

Picture this 📸

You have a date night coming up

You peruse your closet

You spot the box – you know the one. The one that has dust bunnies on it – on the very top shelf. The shoes you have a love/hate relationship with

You grab the box, brush off the dust and open it

You are determined to wear the heels.

You play the timetable of the night in your head

You know you’ve got roughly 300-500 steps to take that date night

✅ House to car

(You are lookin so hot and rockin it – and smiling)

✅ Car to restaurant

(Stay with me – you know you can’t take the heels off because you’ll never get them back on – slight smile and moving your toes around a lot while you’re sitting there – just to keep the blood flowing)

✅ Restaurant back to car

(Once you hit the car for the ride home – those suckers are OFF and you walk into the house barefoot – doesn’t matter the temp outside – not so much smiling now)

At this point in this story I have to admit – at times I have shoe envy.

Sometimes I look at these lovely ladies walking eloquently and effortlessly in heels.

I want what she’s having….

or do I?

After child #3 something definitely happened. 

Stepping into them felt a sort of painful clumsiness 😩

A sort of foreign object was on my feet. 

They felt tighter.

They felt unstable

I walked in a whole different way that didn’t even resemble my normal walk.

What happened? 

Did they shrink in protest for being ignored for so long? 

Did my feet grow?

But as you can see from this photo – I’m in training. 

I have been all week.

I’ve shared photos with my bestie to get a giggle.

But you see, I want these beautiful hot pink, gorgeous, sleek and I may just say it…SEXY shoes to work. 

I feel taller as I stand next to my 6’3” husband

I can actually rest my head on his shoulder when I dance and don’t strain my neck looking up or throw out a rotator cuff extending my arms to reach him during the slow dances.

 

The higher the heels, the closer to heaven. – Christian Louboutin

DAMN IT – I’m all in on these things…if even for 6 hours.

SO here’s the deal – as we age – along with our body feeling like we are in a construction zone with menopause – our feet change.

I asked the experts (for real – I did)

Age, increased weight, swelling and hormonal changes lead to changes in the feet like widening and lengthening – so you guessed it our foot size can change.

I’m not even gonna dig into bunions and osteoarthritis but it’s true the mechanics of our walking changes as we age. I’m not gonna lie – when I’m in my pilates class and we do footwork, and work on our toes to strengthen our ankles – a little piece of me says, “I think I can. I think I can….wear heels once in awhile”

So think of me this weekend: 

I’ve trained hard

I’m prepared for this moment

I’ve put in the work

And I’m going to rock them

I’m going to flaunt my 5’6 1/2 height if only for an hour

I’m going for it

No turning back

There is no armpit height in the crowd for this girl

And don’t worry – I will report back. And if any of you have tried the amazing Sara Blakely’s SNEEX (luxury hybrid-stiletto) – please do tell! I’m so intrigued.

Signing off…and now back to walking around the house in my heels (I’ve had them on the whole time I wrote this) but I’m back to work. There’s more prep to do.

PS: Check out this article in the NY Post – Wearing these shoes to go out officially make you old, according to GEN Z

What’s your secret to wearing heels gracefully? Share in the comments!