These are my sneakers. They have been my sneakers for so many years now that I can’t even remember how long. I have a vague memory that I was living on Banks Rd (the *first* time) when I got them, which means Mary and Joey would have been at Coconut Creek Elementary. If that memory is correct, then these sneakers are very…very old.
And they are showing their age. Besides being filthy, the rubber soles are coming apart, flapping up and down, to and fro, when I walk. That’s why I have to retire them. If they weren’t practically *dangerous* at this point, there’s no way I would get rid of them. After wearing them for so long, they hug my feet so perfectly that they are in many ways even more comfortable than going barefoot.
Ah, my sneakers…They have served me well all these years. Most memorably, they went to the gym with me every day back in 2005, when I managed to lose about 30 pounds. Of those 30, 20 or so have come back, and I am now in the process of “re-losing” them. But it will be a new pair of sneakers that accompanies me on that adventure.
But these sneakers and I had many adventures together, aside from all our hard working hours in the gym. Most memorably, they have no doubt been involved in my moving experiences, packing and unpacking up all my belongings…how many times? Three? Four? Five? And the last time, they traveled with me all the way from Florida to Alabama. Old friends in a new place.
I know I sound very sentimental about my ratty old pair of sneakers. I’m really not. They’ll go in the trash can, where they belong. I just thought it would be nice to stop for a moment and reflect upon something that has been so much a part of my life for so long before I move on into a “New Sneakers” chapter of my life.
