A Time for Renewal

It was Easter 2003 when my family met my future husband for the first time. And it is Easter 2011 that marks the last Easter for us to be married. It is a season for renewal and with that renewal comes many emotions - sadness, joy, fear - the list goes on and on.

Many people have emotional ties to possessions and I am no different. Except, of course, that some of my most emotional ties are with my shoes. Strange, I know, but as I downsize my shoe collection with the help of eBay; I can't help but go through that emotional roller coaster.

Like these green patent Tahari sandals with the gold heel. My soon to be ex-husband bought them for me as an Easter surprise a few years ago. I loved the colors and the fact they would go with a jacket I have that is so ugly it's cute (you'd have to see it to understand). Mostly, though, I loved that he went into a store, saw these and thought of me. But they hurt my feet from the moment I put them on. Yet I wore them anyway. Because they were cute and because he bought them for me. I suffered through to make him happy...

And now these shoes are making someone in Wisconsin happy. And the lesson they have taught me is invaluable - you can't sacrifice your own happiness for someone else's. If you do, it is impossible to sustain.

So I wish you a happy and blessed Easter. An Easter that allows you to begin your own season of renewal. A pain-free time filled with happiness... and maybe a couple pairs of new shoes.