A Tale of Two Shoes

I am going to tell you two (apparently) separate stories but I promise they will link up at the end. Ready?

Ok, here goes:

Five years ago I was given a pair of gently used black high heeled shoes by my sister. I loved those shoes. They were comfortable and I could wear them all day or night without a single complaint. They were the only dressy pair of shoes I owned and I could wear them with a dress or jeans and they went perfectly. After about 3 years they began to show some wear and tear. I tried desperately to find a replacement pair to no avail. Every time I traveled back to the States I searched for a pair of dressy heels but could never find the right one. I stuck with my old faithfuls. Last year, they were so bad that my good friend, Debbie sent them to a shoe hospital. They did their best but it was looking more and more like my shoes had breathed their last.

This year, I visited Payless because I really needed new shoes for my speaking engagements. Miracle of miracles! I found not one, but three pairs of beautiful shoes! One super comfortable wedge open toe pump in navy blue, one pair of heels I would never have chosen on my own without the encouragement of my son and friend (see photo below) and one pair of sandal heels for more dressy occasions (I've never worn them yet--if that's any indication of the life I lead). I was so excited and wore those first two pairs every day the entire time I was in the States and the first pair a few time every week since I've been back here in Zambia. They are both comfortable shoes and have been wonderful.

Showing a promo video and speaking at a church in Texas

 A close up of the heels I never would have chosen for myself but ended up loving!

Now for the second story:

Buzz Has To Die!*

 A couple years ago our very sweet and loving dog, Licky died and we had to replace her. A couple months later we got a cute, large dog named Harley. One of Licky's puppies, Spock, was her buddy for a whole year. Then he was put down. Harley was lonely. Then we found a new puppy. 

Friends of ours promised that the puppy was nearly full pure bred something or other. I forget now. I'm not a dog person....can you tell? Anyway, sadly, this new puppy was more mutt than pure and while kinda sweet is a bit of a rascal. He is a bit obnoxious and not easily trained. I'm not really a fan. It's possible that he picked up on this because sometimes I feel like he has it in for me. More about this later.....

Then he hit puppy puberty. Heaven help us! Buzz's slightly undisciplined antics turned into full-blown naughtiness. He began to chew on everything in sight. He had done this a bit as a tiny puppy but this was really bad. Clothes left on the clothesline were in tatters in the morning, pieces of plastic blown into our yard became confetti. Even the plastic pot for our little tree on the porch suffered the wrath of Buzz's teeth.

We did our best to remove everything from the yard before closing things down for the night and to keep things up and away from his puppy jaws. 

Do you kinda see where this is going?

A couple weeks ago we came home late from our shopping trip to Mansa. I kicked up my wedge heels in a corner of the dining room and set about making dinner. We had friends coming over and I didn't give a second thought to my shoes. Not until the next morning that is when Jasmine brought them to me. Yes, folks, Buzz had gotten ahold of them and they were history! Not a chance of lifesaving measures. 

I may have shed a tear or two. I may have yelled (a lot!). It is nearly impossible to find shoes here and I went 5 years without finding shoes I liked even in the States. I shudder to think how much longer it will be before I find a pair I love again. Pray for me!

*This title is adapted from a Dixie Chicks song. You gotta love how Country songs can take an awkward or terrible situation and make it humorous in song.