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By Sarah Lysne

Herald Columnist

When I was five years old, my mom bought me a pair of brown Mary Jane style shoes. They were so cute because they had red, orange, and gold leaf designs on the toes of the shoes. I was very proud of them when I wore them to school.

When I was in fifth grade, I had a favorite pair of navy blue leather clogs. I had to get navy blue shoes to wear to my first orchestra concert. My mom and I looked all over town. We couldn’t find navy blue shoes anywhere, and online shopping was not an option in 1979. My mom was sure that it would have been fine for me to wear black shoes with my blue skirt, and my white blouse, but I insisted on finding the blue shoes, because that’s what my orchestra teacher, Mr.Briceland, had requested for our concert attire.

We finally found the blue clogs. They were $38, and that was a lot of money to pay for kids shoes  in 1979.

At our first concert, I noticed that a lot of the girls were wearing black shoes, but I was still glad that I had my navy blue clogs.

When I was a teenager, I got my first pair of Nike tennis shoes. They were pink and gray. They were very cool.

As an adult, I have always bought good shoes because it is important to me to have shoes that are comfortable.  I have also learned that when I wear good shoes, I don’t have back problems.

I used to try to buy shoes that would match my outfits. One of my favorite pairs was a pair of pink leather pumps. I remember wearing them to my niece’s fifth birthday party with a white and pink floral dress.

After I was diagnosed with ALS, I realized that in order to wear my leg splints, I will always have to wear tennis shoes. Fortunately, my daughter found a cute pair of tennis shoes for me.  They’re comfortable, and they work well with my splints. Knowing that I have to wear tennis shoes with my splints has caused me to have to be creative in finding tennis shoes that go with the right outfits. When I went to a wedding this summer. I found some tennis shoes that had a leopard print on the back, and they looked dressy enough to wear with my dress to the wedding.

Even though I am not wearing my pink pumps anymore, I am enjoying the fact that I seldom have back problems anymore. I have also discovered that there are an abundance of stylish tennis shoes available to me. If I can’t find what I’m looking for in Austin, I can shop online.  After all, it’s not 1979 anymore.