a different kind of list - shoes and memories

My loved ones are always teasing me about the number of shoes that I have. What they don't understand is that for me, my shoes are my memories. Some people look at pictures that remind them of times past. I put on a pair of shoes and am reminded of things. So here are some of my shoes and the memories that go along with them.

1. Lime green no-back gymshoes. My boyfriend had taken a day off work and spent it downtown. Carson's was closing and he went shopping. He picked me up from work, and told me he had a surprise for me. That surprise was those shoes, which he picked out in my favorite color.

2. Pointy-toed black stilettos. The kids and I were shoe shopping. I was on the phone with my boyfriend, and this was in the beginning of the relationship. We were talking, and something that he said stopped me in my tracks. I felt as if everything around me ceased to exist and at the one moment in time, I knew just how deep a connection he and I had.

3. Rose-colored flip-flops. They were my beach shoes. Every weekend I was at the beach. Those shoes were dirty and worn out and weren't good for walking anywhere but on sand, but I loved them.

4. Knee-high black boots. My first pair of knee-high boots and oh how I love them. I had never owned anything so feminine since I became a mom, and they definitely made me feel like I was a woman.

5. Shell-toed white gymshoes. I remember when I bought my house all the hard work that we put into it to get it ready to move into. They were filthy and covered in paint, spackle and sawdust, but every time I put them on I knew that I was accomplishing something.

I own over 50 pairs of shoes, and while some of them don't carry the strong memories that others do, each and every one of them mean something to me. They are my life, my past, my present, and my future. Each pair, as different as they may be from each other, is a little part of what makes me me.

10 things I miss about living with my boyfriend (yes, I do so LOVE my lists)

Going from living together to living apart, no matter if temporary or not, is a difficult transition. So often we take the little things for granted, but when you don't have them anymore, it's the little things that we miss the most. Here are some of the things that I miss the most, in randem order....


1. Our Saturday/Sunday morning coffee and breakfast time.

2. Riding the train home from work together.

3. Watching football on Sunday, and me falling asleep with my head in his lap.

4. Folding his laundry.

5. Kissing his shoulder before I fall asleep.

6. Going to the grocery store together.

7. Sitting on our swing and talking about whatever comes to mind.

8. Trying a new recipe and seeing the look on his face as he takes the first bite.

9. Listening to him and my son play Play Station.

10. His good-bye kiss in the morning as he leaves for the gym.

There are so many more little things that were taken for granted, and if I were to name them all I'd have a novel by the time I was done. My lesson in this? The highs and lows aren't what's going to give you a lasting relationship. It's the little things that strengthen the bond between you, create intimacy, and grow into a love that's everlasting. He and I may no longer live together at this point, but the time that we spend together, I appreciate and savor every moment of it. While we're creating new and happy memories, I'm also falling in love all over again with the man that I already love. And that's a pretty amazing thing.