Plans, Good Friends and Where My Shoes Have Taken Me...

So much has been going on with us, as you can see from our new website!! Now that most of that is done, back to our blogging!!

I thought it was very appropriate to start the new blog with this entry. The last post was about my father's tree in Canada and that is just where my shoes took me recently. Let me begin to explain...

Right at the tail end of getting our new website up I got an e-mail from Martin's wife,Martin is one of my childhood friends, (I was six when we all met), and my best friend Lorelei. Well Martin was having a milestone birthday and Giselle his wife was giving him a surprise party. Lor and Giselle both thought how great it would be if all four of us that grew up together could be there for that occasion. We all live in different areas, Lor about 250 miles away and David about 30 miles and me, well California. I recognized that even though we have connected individually that the four of us had not all been together in seventeen years. I debated for a while and thought of the craziness of doing this, but the thought of seeing my dear friends and getting the joy of surprising Martin was just too much and it won over my more serious side.

Of course I am always thinking about shoes, so I thought "well I can do a blog about how Canadian styles differ from American" Yes, that was plan for shoes while in Windsor. So while waiting to connect with Lor and her (wonderful) husband Jason, I went off to Devonshire Mall. The place where I had spent many happy times as a teenager. I was so surprised to see the changes in it, I could not recognize it from what it had been. I checked out a few shoe stores and while they had great styles they were pretty much the same as what we have here, OK, maybe a little larger selection of boots, still the same though.

So there went my blog topic. Back to the drawing board. And then it just kind of naturally occurred. I realized as I was wearing my wonderful 8009-18's how they were allowing me to walk on places that I had been so many times before, and I was filled with gratitude for that simple pleasure. I thought as I sat at Starbucks, yes me and my Starbucks habit, how lucky I was to be in the land where I had grown up.

That was not the best part though. The best parts started once I connected with Lor. We met up at her sister Ivy's house and I of course stood on my tiptoes still in my 8009-18's Lor is so tall and I am "petite." They took me in to see Ivy, a woman that I have known almost my whole life. I saw her Mother in her, and it made my heart full. From there Lorelei, Jason and I went to church together and then off to get ready for Martin's party.

So of course I had my outfit planned out around my shoes!! I was wearing my Agape/Kent's and as we all know they are fabulous. So there I am in great shoes on my way to see David, and Martin and Giselle.

Now this is one of the funny parts, I live in my heels, rarely do they come off. Upon arriving at Martin and Giselle's home they had beautiful hard wood floors so at the door all of our shoes came off. Now I did notice that most of the closet was filled with tennis shoes, which were much more appropriate for the rather chilly early October weather than my choice of bare legs, but I have lived in California for a long time now. So off came my heels. I still think though that my shoes took me there.

Took me to the home of dear friends to surprise one of them. And surprise we did. Giselle has tried before to surprise Martin and he is just too smart for that. She was really good this time.
While everyone was hiding in the living room, she had the three of us go and hide in their bedroom and turn on the TV so that the house would look dark when he pulled up. He really thought upon arriving home that she didn't do anything. Their other guests greeted him first with a giant yelling of "SURPRISE." And then the three of us filed out from the bedroom, Lor first, David second, and me hiding behind the rather tall and broad David. When each of us appeared the screams were pretty loud. From Martin's heartfelt reaction I think he felt so good that all of his friends were there together.

SO at the beginning of the year I wondered where my shoes would take me. Yes, they took me to a place, more than that though they took me to see dear friends that I love and cherish deeply, and that was really the important part.

My plans changed from a blog about styles, I was hoping for rather witty inspiration, they changed but they got better. Better than I ever thought they could be.

So I invite you to write notes about where your shoes have taken YOU? How your plans may have changed and yet, gotten better.