Ode to a good friend (actually, two)

I'd like to introduce you to my good friends. Affectionately I refer to them as "sandals", but their technical name is Nike ACG "Air Deschutz" Sandals. These friends have walked with me (haha) through many good times.



I have owned this pair of sandals since 1998. In fact, hubby brought them back for me from Hawaii during his mission trip there. I can hardly believe it's been 8 years. That was a rocky time in our relationship - we didn't really know if we'd be able to stick it out - but I knew I meant SOMETHING to him because I was the only one who got souvenirs AND sandals when he came back.

I've worn these sandals faithfully every summer, on vacations, camping trips, etc. I haul them out whenever it seems like it'll be a sunny week. Some people are grossed out at the sight of feet, but I have perfectly normal feet and don't mind exposing them to the world by wearing sandals. (I would not, however, walk barefoot outside - I'm not Britney Spears, after all.)

Permit me to indulge in some fond memories with my Nikes.

Here I am in Victoria, pretending to be a dinosaur (June 2003):


If you look closely you can see my sandals on the carpet of my Campbell River hotel room (May 2006):


Look - we are meeting the Genie from Aladdin at Disney World (Feb 2003):


Clod is the center of this pic, but look - sandals during camping! (July 2004):


I think I'm saying grace before eating in this picture, but otherwise, it's eerily similar - same chair, same camp location ... it's when I went camping with some of my school friends in July 2003:



I have many other fun pictures, but I am afraid I might be wearing the same clothes in many of them. Darn that Old Navy hoodie - its versatility may be outweighed by its lack of photogenicity.

Anyway. In May 2004, I went to St. Louis with my family for my cousin's wedding. While we were walking up the steps to a fancy shopping mall, my mom noticed an issue with my sandals tearing at the back. I managed to sew them back together ... but I guess thread can only do so much. This month I noticed significant damage again ... Poor Nikes. View the damage below - warning - lovers of Nike sandals may want to avert their eyes!

Oh! The disaster!


I suppose I could have sewed them up again, but I just didn't think it would be worth the effort. So this past weekend, I bit the bullet and purchased a new pair of sandals. I hope they last another 8 years (that would mean $5/year - pretty good!) It's hard to say goodbye to such a good friend, but all good things must come to an end, right?

Here is a picture of my new friend: (don't worry - I bought both the right and left ones!)