He packed everything up. His ties, jackets, pants, shirts, belts, and even his shoes. After he left, I noticed something interesting about our over the door shoe holder - it was very empty. Surprisingly, only two pairs of shoes in the holder actually belonged to me.
One pair is my black flats. I bought them 2 years ago. I wear them to church, to take out the garbage, and pretty much every time I go out in public. The other pair is my tennis shoes that I think I bought 3 years ago. I wear them on long walks. I used to have a pair of sandals, but they fell apart on our Colorado trip and I probably wont replace them until next spring.
But really my shoe collection consists of so many more pairs of shoes than just those two. I have two pairs of boots waiting for winter in the bottom of my closet. I have at least 6 pairs of shoes in a box at the top of my closet. They are all high healed shoes and are waiting for the day when I don't routinely lift three children multiple times a day.
Sometimes I feel like my life is like my shoe holder. Consisting of only limited options. I wake up, make bottles, change diapers, change clothes, feed kids, try to clean the house, try keep everyone happy, and then repeat. It's the same thing over and over again. The same two pairs of shoes over and over again.
But there is more to me than just the being "Mommy." I love projects, innovation, assignments, adventure, challenges, adrenaline, and feeling important. A lot of those parts of me are currently on an internal shelf. They are waiting for the day that I'm not consumed by three needy babies.
Most of the time it's okay to keep the shoes, and me, in a box. It would be impractical to start wearing high heeled shoes to take out the garbage. Just as it would be a hassle to start trying to earn money right now. And I'm happy with my two pairs of shoes. Just like I really enjoy what I do as a mom.
However, I have to remember that it is important to branch out from the everyday routine. To take time to do things for me - as me. And as I do these things I need to remember to wear some really awesome high heels.
Love it! And totally have felt the same way!! I have black sandals that I wear for EVERYTHING when it is sandal weather, sneakers for everything else except a pair of boots when I absolutely have to wear boots. I have a few other pairs of dress shoes that I got for student teaching and I wear the black pair to church during the winter and the other two only VERY rarely. And life often feels the same. I've been really grateful these past few years for the music teaching opportunities I've had to feel like I am more than just a frumpy mommy. Taking an institute class also helped a lot. Spiritually uplifting time where you get to talk about things other than diapers :) Hang in there!!!
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