ModernMom: These Boots Were Made for Running

Last week I had a series of early meetings, culminating in a 10:30 appointment with the CEO and president of our company. My workday was scheduled to start at 7:45 which meant that I needed to be at the child care center when the doors opened at 7:00, settle the children in their respective classrooms, and race to the office. Admittedly, I was concerned that even with impeccable planning I wouldn’t be able to get there in time…that I’d dash in 20 minutes late attributing my tardiness to traffic.

I prepared as thoroughly as possible the night before: packing lunches, laying out clothes, putting breakfast on the table and toothpaste on the toothbrushes. And, to my great delight and surprise, the morning routine went off without a hitch. I made it to work on time and sailed through the first couple of meetings.


I had a 20-minute break before the “big” meeting, and it was then that I nonchalantly glanced down and noticed that with my knee-length skirt I was wearing two different boots. One was brown and the other black. One was pointy and the other rounded. Perhaps most alarming, they were different heights. So much for impeccable planning. Had the dozens of people I’d seen that day noticed and been too polite to say anything? Did they think I was starting a new fashion trend? Were they just as bleary-eyed as I was and oblivious to my fashion faux pas? I raced to PayLess Shoes a few blocks away and bought a pair of new boots. Who would think that a pair of $20 shoes would become the most valuable in my closet?