It’s Day 5 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge – only 360 more days to go!

I took a 2-mile “Papa’s Walk” around the neighborhood this morning and noticed that I kept slipping off of my shoes. I was having a difficult time feeling balanced as I walked, and my feet were uncomfortable.  I started wondering if it could be my shoes.  I’ve worn the exact same pair of New Balance walking shoes since 1976!  (That’s not a typo.)

I’ve taken hundreds of walks (probably thousands) over the years – and the shoes have served me well.  But after 37 years, I thought it might be time for a new pair. When I got home, I examined the shoes carefully, and was a little embarrassed at the condition they were in – all scuffed up, heels worn, insoles worn, and it looks like the shoes had started to disintegrate on my feet this morning. The soles had come unglued and there was a hole in one of them – which is why I kept slipping.  (I worry that I must have some kind of mental defect because I didn’t notice it sooner.)

I thought of Papa.  He often said the reason why he worked so hard was to buy us new shoes.  He told us many times about having to put cardboard in the bottoms of his shoes (when he was a kid) to protect his feet when he had worn holes in the soles. His family simply couldn’t afford to buy a new pair.

I decide to forego the cardboard. Because the New Balance shoes had lasted for so long, I looked for the company online and was delighted to learn that “ New Balance is the only athletic shoe manufacturer still making shoes in the US.”  I ordered a pair and can’t wait to try them on! Think the new shoes will last for 37 years? Hope I live long enough to find out.  🙂