We all know those obvious signs of aging - the ones like getting to church early to make sure you get a soft seat, using anti-aging cream, eating the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 days straight and enjoying it. You know the ones. So I've become aware of another one, and sadly enough, I do it. You know you're getting old when you choose comfort over style when deciding on a pair of shoes. Unfortunately, I began showing signs approximately 3 years ago. I am not a sneaker kind of a person - flip flops or bare feet all the way. But for whatever reason, a few years ago I needed a pair of tennis shoes and couldn't find what I wanted. After much searching I finally settled on a pair that was SO comfy, but not so cute. I was completely aware of their lack of pizazz, but thought for as little as I would be wearing them, who cares what they look like. I maybe wear them once every 6 months or so, a major confession to all of you tennis playing, rock climbing, go to the gym and run 3 miles every morning friends of mine. Not to say that I don't exercise. I RUN to answer the phone sometimes. I carry load after load of laundry up my stairs. I even dance as I'm sweeping the floor occassionally. So anyway, not long ago I slipped my laced beauties on to do some yard work when Ty looked at my shoes and said, "HEY, Grandma has those shoes!" Hmmm. Should I reconsider?

Mom, this isn't to say that your shoes are ugly, just maybe not what a 29 year-old should be wearing. Are comfortable shoes so important that if someone only saw my feet, I would be okay that they envision me being 30 years older? I'm kind of thinking not. Maybe when I bought those shoes my thinking SHOULD have been, "For as little as I'll be wearing these shoes, who cares what they FEEL like - as long as they're super cute." And since that wasn't my first thought, I must be getting old. And now that I'm quite aware of this, I will do all in my power to avoid it. We will all unavoidably AGE, but that doesn't mean we have to GET OLD.

Thank you, Ty for this enlightening experience. Some things require the honesty of a 4 year-old. Just watch, and these may be the next pair of tennies flung over the telephone wire. On second thought, maybe I'll just keep them for a few decades until they're perfectly acceptable to wear again.

I considered posting a picture of the shoes, but they looked so ugly enlarged on the computer, that quite frankly I'm just too embarrassed.