Shoe Personality of the Week: 9/20/2010
The actual transition from Summer to Fall is coming this week. The nights are cooler, sometimes requiring a light jacket; sign that summer is waving & soon will be in the rearview. Summer is the season of MY own personal glow stick. I look & feel vibrant &, strangely, more feminine. I LOVE sundresses & sandals as well as the game of making men’s cargo shorts look sexy. Trust, it’s possible.
I suppose that based on the fact that my left foot is out of commission I should be glad to see sandal season go, but I’m not. I never got a chance to rock these:
I LOVE THESE SANDALS!! They remind me of my pre-teen years. It’s the kind of shoe that my mother would have considered slightly older than the stage I was leaving but not too far ahead of the game for me to start smellin’ myself if she let me wear them. My mother was expert at making sure I was clear that I was a child. My rites of passage were very distinct, none of those blurry lines that would give me cause to question her decisions. Such things didn’t occur in the home I grew up in. This pretty little sandal is all that I was & all that I wanted to be. At 12, it would have been symbolic of going on to Jr. High School, the waiting adventures of boys, the beginnings of a new body, & new privileges (having nothing to do with the body).
Now I’m teaching girls who are 12 or about to be 12. Scarily, these girls are far more developed than I am at 35. I’m surrounded by T&A that has no understanding of what it is, the true power it has, the confusion it causes, or the danger lurking around it. Immature minds are housed in overly mature bodies, & dressed in clothing far more provocative than is even safe. These baby girls carry the physiques of women. Not only that, but they carry the bodies that women had post pregnancy. These poor girls have no room for error before crossing a dangerous line that will eventually just be wiped away altogether by another Freshman 15, project snacking (college, not hoods), cultivated laziness, & the often sedentary life of marriage & family.
My crystal ball makes me sad. I wish my premonitions were as baseless as Ms. Cleo’s readings. No need to "call me now!" The writing’s on the wall. Maybe…just maybe…I can find a way to use my Teacher Cape to affect change in these girls’ lives. & based on the way the slogan goes, I should be satisfied if I just reach 1. Right?
We’ll see. In the meantime, break out your favorite sandal & strut it proudly for the last days of summer.
Watch me move.
I suppose that based on the fact that my left foot is out of commission I should be glad to see sandal season go, but I’m not. I never got a chance to rock these:
I LOVE THESE SANDALS!! They remind me of my pre-teen years. It’s the kind of shoe that my mother would have considered slightly older than the stage I was leaving but not too far ahead of the game for me to start smellin’ myself if she let me wear them. My mother was expert at making sure I was clear that I was a child. My rites of passage were very distinct, none of those blurry lines that would give me cause to question her decisions. Such things didn’t occur in the home I grew up in. This pretty little sandal is all that I was & all that I wanted to be. At 12, it would have been symbolic of going on to Jr. High School, the waiting adventures of boys, the beginnings of a new body, & new privileges (having nothing to do with the body).
Now I’m teaching girls who are 12 or about to be 12. Scarily, these girls are far more developed than I am at 35. I’m surrounded by T&A that has no understanding of what it is, the true power it has, the confusion it causes, or the danger lurking around it. Immature minds are housed in overly mature bodies, & dressed in clothing far more provocative than is even safe. These baby girls carry the physiques of women. Not only that, but they carry the bodies that women had post pregnancy. These poor girls have no room for error before crossing a dangerous line that will eventually just be wiped away altogether by another Freshman 15, project snacking (college, not hoods), cultivated laziness, & the often sedentary life of marriage & family.
My crystal ball makes me sad. I wish my premonitions were as baseless as Ms. Cleo’s readings. No need to "call me now!" The writing’s on the wall. Maybe…just maybe…I can find a way to use my Teacher Cape to affect change in these girls’ lives. & based on the way the slogan goes, I should be satisfied if I just reach 1. Right?
We’ll see. In the meantime, break out your favorite sandal & strut it proudly for the last days of summer.
Watch me move.
I was just talking to my mom about this this morning after looking at some pics of my former girl students on fb. They all have very voluptuous shapes, and like you said, have their post-baby-bodies before they've had any! I don't know what to make of it, but there is some sadness in it. Well actually, you said it very well.
ReplyDeleteHola Chica,
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that their young minds haven't yet caught up with the matureness of their bodies. I have faith (no pun intended) that you will reach more than 1. If not by the words you speak by being a positive example of a true woman. Sometimes it's not what one says but simply how she carries herself that is lesson enough.
On another note, I have left summer behind, lack of feelings and all. I grabbed a pair of distressed boots and a pair of running sneakers (I don't need a post baby body minus the baby) that will be my signature this fall/winter season.