My Dearest Shoes,

Please forgive me. The miles of hard, sharp pavement have been replaced by an expanse of mud and dirt. The restaurants and shops are no longer and instead you suffer through fields and mountains. Your clean soles are now caked with mud and perhaps even an elk dropping. Your rich, luscious leather is now a lighter shade as you are scuffed with outdoor use. Those heals that made such a fabulous ‘click click click’ on the pavement are mute. Your little straps are now only hazards to an ankle needing to work and haul brush. The delight of matching you with a cute skirt or slacks is over as jeans and sneakers are the standard ‘going out’ apparel. And so, my shoes, you must now sit in the back of the closet and hope for a more urban time.