I take off my shoes.
I really, really dislike wearing shoes.
And I’m not a fan of wearing socks either unless the house is really cold.
So, one of the first things I do when I get in the house is kick off my shoes and take off my socks.
I’m not quite sure why I hate shoes as much as I do; it’s probably a combination of things.
For starters, I have feet that are hard to put into shoes. I have thick ankles, a very wide toe box, and an extremely high arch (I can slide four fingers underneath my foot when I’m standing barefoot on a hard floor).
These foot features all work fine when I’m not wearing shoes, but they present a whole lot of fit problems when I try to buy shoes.
Also, I tend to run on the hot side of things, and having shoes and socks on makes me feel extra hot. I like to feel the air on my feet!
Lastly, I might just be really used to going barefoot. Except for kindergarten, I was homeschooled until I graduated from high school, and since I was home, I didn’t have to wear shoes.
This pattern has continued into adulthood because except for a year and a half when I worked for Nordstrom, I’ve been shoe-lessly self-employed.
Of course, homeschooling moms don’t have to wear shoes either, so that’s more barefoot time for me.
To me, shoes mean, “I’m about to leave the house and go somewhere.”, so I never, ever feel comfy at home unless I’m barefoot.
Definitely NOT take off shoes. The only time I’m not in shoes is when I’m in bed. I have to go outside constantly, and I have a tendency towards plantar fasciitis (plus a wonky ankle that I sprained last year that needs some support), so I wear shoes all the time. My running shoes are my slippers.
The first thing I do when I get home is open the gate, because we keep both the gates in our perimeter fence closed to keep the dogs in, so I can’t park in front of the house unless I open the gate to drive through. The first thing I do when I get in the house is hang up my purse, so small children don’t get into it. And so I can always find it.
Kristin! We did not agree on something!
I know. It’s like we’re two different people or something. 🙂
IMPOSSIBLE.
I get home pretty late, around 7 to 8 p.m., since I stop to visit my husband after work; my routine is always done as quickly as possible:
Greet the insanely happy dog.
Use the bathroom, always a need since I have an hour’s drive home.
Grab the fish food and feed our fish in the pond and the trough outside.
Turn off the grow lights over my container garden plants.
Close the few open curtains, as it’s dark these days when I get home.
Empty my lunch bag and head for the stove to start cooking.
First thing I do is give a treat to our Havanese and Westie girlies!! Then, I change from my distance glasses to my reading glasses. Shoes come off and two pairs of socks go on! My feet are ALWAYS cold!! I absolutely LOVE shoes and boots!!
First thing I do when I get home is take off my bra! IMO there is nothing more constricting than a bra. And do you want to know a secret? Sometimes that torture device comes off in the car on before I even get home! =)
I immediately change out of whatever I am wearing and into my lounge/house clothes. I have three dogs and they pretty much have free reign in our house (I know, so bad), so I get covered in dog hair. I keep our home mercilessly clean and vacuum every other day, but even one dog just brushing up against you will leave you covered in one pass.
We have stone floors, so shoes indoors are a must. Happily they’re the DSD kind of stone floors – Doesn’t Show Dirt.
I’m commenting because I have high arches too, but my feet are skinny. Any shoes I wear with laces always come untied. I can literally feel the bones in my feet when I walk (orthotics help). Since we’ve both worked at Nordstrom, I know you know how difficult and important it is to wear comfortable and supportive shoes. For nurses, it’s critical (hee).
Here’s how I’ve hacked this shoe issue frugally: I went to an expensive walking store and tried on everything. When I found something great, I happily paid full price. I made sure to buy them large enough to fit orthotics. I love, love, love my shoes now and they never come untied. Now that I know exactly what works for me, I buy them on ebay for a third the cost of new. I always keep a reserve so I never fall flat (hee). Hmm, there might be eight new pair in my closet, patiently waiting to be pressed into service. They come in multiple colors, so I try to keep two of each color I like, because I know one day they’ll be discontinued. That will be a sad day, but I will be prepared.
tl:dr – comfortable, supportive shoes are worth every penny and then some.
And in case you’re curious, the shoes are Dansko Honor. Interestingly, I can’t wear the Dansko clog style that is so popular with nurses, servers, and chefs, because they fall off my feet they’re so wide. Ergo, the brand may have something for both of us. No affiliation, just a happy customer.
First thing? I tell Licorice “ Mom’s home” in a ridiculous voice!
Just a note on the subject of wearing shoess… we had a wonderful/brilliant/kind/elegant lecturer for Fundamental Nursing Science, our first year nursing subjects. She gave us a piece of advice in our first week: for a long and happy career in nursing, look after your feet and your back! I always remember this when I spend more on work shoes than any others.
Yes, I have made peace with the fact that I will have to wear shoes while nursing. lol My feet are notoriously hard to fit, but I promise that I will carefully choose a good pair and I will not cheap out when I buy them.
When I worked I went straight to the recliner & put sumthing mindless on TV to start my mind clearing out frm work problems and prevent me frm continuing to deal with them. There were a couple cats in my lap too that helped.
First of all, that picture exudes happiness and I love it!
And I’m with you on the shoes. Sometimes I even wear flip-flops when I’m driving or riding in the car, so I can prolong my shoeless-ness for the length of my trip.
First thing I do is also to take off my shoes. In my Nordic culture, nobody wears outdoor shoes indoors (similar to Japan, it would be considered very rude). If the floors are cold, we have a basket of wool socks for guests, and I also wear slippers. It’s often muddy outside, so this has a practical side to it as well.
The next thing I do in these pandemic times is to go and wash my hands, especially now when I live in the city and move around with public transport.
Kristen, your feet sound just like mine. 6D with very high arches – makes me think I am walking around on little cubes. I wear Crocs for almost everything. There are some called “All Terrain” with a great tread from their website; they also make something similar called “Off Road”, which I found on Amazon (makes me wonder if it is discontinued). It is a trick to find shoes that are comfortable – I think Crocs carry some clogs that nurses can wear.