My mother is getting remarried and I will be one of her bridesmaids.

She and her husband-to-be picked out the bridesmaid dresses a few months ago and spent a couple of days trying to decide if they liked them best in teal or red. They settled on the teal, and I got very excited when one of my friends pointed out that it’s only a few shades of blue lighter than my walking frame Martha is.

Once the dress were picked out, we thought that we would have to get mine taken up because they were maxi dresses that would’ve been way too long for me, but then we noticed that they had the same dress in a shorter cut too, which, when I tried it on, happened to be almost full-length on me.  Result! I say almost because I think it stops a couple of inches above my ankles but that’s fine with me. I’m less likely to trip on it that way, she says. She hopes. Oh please, don’t let me fall over.

Anyway…

With all that sorted, I knew that we would have to try and find me some footwear to go with it. The very idea sent a shiver down my spine. Trying to find something for everyday wear can be hard enough, and trying to find something for a special occasion, especially something that isn’t a boot, is even harder.

My mum did some shoe-scouting without me and then took me along to show me the potentials she had found, with me saying all the while that I’d be quite happy to go in whatever pair of (probably worn-down) boots I happened to be working my way through at the time.

My mum said that she wanted me to have something nice to wear so that I’d feel good about myself. This made me happy, but I was doubtful that we’d find anything. I sat back, literally, on Martha’s seat and let her take charge.

The first pair of sandals that we tried were no good. I was expecting this. It usually takes a few tries to find something. Not always though. The second pair of sandals fit me, stayed on my feet AND had Velcro straps so that would make things easier for me. I felt quite sturdy walking in them both with and without the walker. I was amazed. I wanted to buy them as quickly as possible in case it was some kind of magic spell that would be broken if we took too long in the shop. She did help me try another pair, but I was pretty happy with the ones we found.

Okay, that’s not quite true. I was pretty excited about the ones we found because I haven’t had any sandals since I was a kid I don’t think.

Oh, and I should also mention that they’ve bought me a nice pair of fluffy slippers to change into if the sandals get too much for my feet. I’m hoping I won’t need them, but you never know.