I change my shoes at least twice a day, I don’t know if I could change my life that many times! I think you can only change your life when you’re ready to accept that change (or it is forced upon you and you have no other choice). But a great new pair of shoes is definitely a good start to a new life!!!

Putting on hiking boots changed my life for the better: You get a great work out hiking, you meet interesting people on the trail. You only see smiling faces in the great outdoors…….

I’ve always had wobbly ankles and I don’t always pay attention to where I’m walking, so I was rarely tempted by high heels. I love my Vans, or my yellow high-top sneakers. When my knees complain I wear LadySko walking shoes, which offer great arch support. Even if I wear a dress I have flats on my feet, or I wear boots with a little heel, because the boots give some ankle support.

I don’t think change your shoes, change your life is true, but I do think you can see the changes in your life by your shoes. When I was sixteen my closet was full of platforms and four inch heels with narrow toes that I would struggle to get my wide, big feet into. Now, ten years later, most of my shoes are flats. Two inch heels are a rarity saved for the most special of occasions. I’ve dealt with the fact I’m short and my feet are huge, so now I just want to be comfortable. And I’ve reached that same feeling about myself as a person. There’s things I can’t change, but I accept them and just enjoy being who I am.

My grandmother used to say, “I wear flats so I’m always stable when on uncertain ground. The higher you are off the ground my dear, the harder the fall.” She was 5’1 when she passed.

I had a pair of black patent leather tap dance shoes…loved them. A good pair of hiking boots while working in the mts in Colorado gave me a very confident feeling, but that was a while ago…now I wear Clark sandals, and have worn them while walking around Russia…and since I don’t wear high heels but I love the way they look (oh those lime green manolos) I printed a picture of them and framed it for my bathroom wall.

Which comes first the shoes that change your life, or your life that changes your shoes? When I was a high school teacher I wore sensible sylist short heal pumps. Then I wore higher heels when I entered the corporate world in my 30’s, I went more for high style, but as I climbed the corporate ladder I lowered the heels and went more for style w/comfort. Then when I retired and became a writer, working at home, I now find myself in birks most of the time or when shopping and walking far, I wear my NB tennis shoes. On special occasions I do look for a bit of a wedge up, but nothing like the skyscrapers Oprah wears! Gads! So did my life changes change my footware? Or did my attitude toward not needing to look so young and stylist anymore change my footware? Comfort has totally won out now, so I think it is one’s attitude that changes one’s shoes! ‘Tis true - Form follows function!