here comes the sun

It's amazing what a new pair of sandals can do for your spirit. I have problem feet. Specifically, I have bunions that have been growing slowly since my adolescence. This prohibits me from buying and enjoying "sexy" shoes. Sexy shoes equal pain and an inability to walk normally. So, I wear Birkenstocks in the summer and comfy sneaks in the winter, with the occasional low heeled wide dress shoe for special occasions and shul. Last week my husband took our daughter to the circus and I was left with my son to have a one-on-one day. Hmm, where to go?... The mall! I can't shop with my daughter in tow because she has no patience and only wants toy stores or icecream. Little dude and I set out for the mall with no expectations. We hit Robinsons May first because they were having a sale. I got some things for the family, including a suit for myself. I need one for the High Holy Days that are in October, and since they had a $300 suit for 45 bucks I decided to get it now. Then we had lunch together at the Red Robin. I had a salad and a diet coke, he had a jar of pears and some wagon wheels. The conversation was delightful. The game of Peek-A-Boo a highlight. Then it was off to do more shopping. I didn't need anything in particular, but we had more time to kill. What's this? Aresoles is having a sale? They are the only shoe company that knows how to fit a buniony girl like me. I was immediately drawn to this pair of sandles with a tropical motif. So whimsical, low heeled, and reasonably priced. I tried them on and was struck by how the strap across the top seemed to cradle my bunions. The soft leather was like a bandage of support where other shoes were unkind and mocking. I bought them. And a pair of black pumps for special occasions and shul. I left the mall feeling lighter. The postpartum blues I have been battling for 8 months slipping away. Is shopping a valid treatment for postpartum depression? That is so cliche I didn't want to believe it. And yet, there I was, pushing a stroller stuffed with shopping bags, a bounce in my step and a genuine smile on my face. I thought the shopping glow would wear off once all the chaos of my daily routine starting up again. And it did,.. a little. But then I just slip on those shoes and feel a little bit sexy, a little bit extravagant, a little more me.