I think it is time for a new pair

They come in all kinds of shapes, designs, colors, fabrics, sole types. Some are designed more to wear inside rather than out. Some are designed for winter only and some you can wear all year round. They don’t have to cost a fortune for them to be the favorite pair in your cupboard.

When you buy them new – the kind I like best - the sponge is thick and comfortable – a pretty snug fit. When you put your feet in it for the first time you make an impression in the foam that fits only your foot. After a while of wearing it, even if you wash it, the imprint stays. The slippers are claimed; they belong to your feet and your feet only. No one else' fit quite as comfortable in your footprints.

Last night I slipped my feet into slippers that I have not worn for about 8 months. Instantly I felt strangely comfortable. I knew that they were mine; they fit my feet perfectly, even after all this time.

They remind me of another time, another place, a life I used to know; a life that is no more, a life in which I left footprints. I recognize it, though it also felt oddly strange, somewhat out of place.

I miss that life, but I’m also realizing that the days of that life is forever gone. I’m searching for hope for a new life, a new future, a new pair of slippers in which to make a new imprint of a different me.

For a while now I’ve been feeling very sad, mourning what used to be. It is time for a new beginning. What has happened cannot be undone. I cannot turn back the clock. I need to find a new way for things to be – a way forward – a new set of footprints.

For a long time I have felt overwhelmed and discouraged – feeling only a sense of loss. I don’t really want to have the same pair of slippers that I used to have. But I also realize that I cannot walk barefoot. No one should walk barefoot, I think.

Finding a new pair of slippers can be hard, but it is possible. The first step is to pick a pair. Then you can start leaving a footprint. Doing it the other way around does not work well.

One thing I have often found to be true though is that the next pair of slippers is usually better than the previous one. This is something to inspire hope, to turn something daunting into the hope of a new adventure.

It is time to dry the tears. I have some shopping to do – a new pair of slippers (a new life) and a new bed to kick them under (a new home)...