Every old sock meets an old shoe?

…..at least that’s what Kate Bush’s mom says. Indeed, the beautiful ditty “Moments of Pleasure” got me thinking about my shoe, or lack thereof.

During my 37 years in the drawer, this old sock has met just two old shoes with whom I spent half my life. The first was an ugly, scruffy, overstretched slip-on, the kind you buy before you developed any sense of personal style or fashion sense. The kind you look at and just think “Why?!”. The second, was a handsome 5-inch stiletto, one I wanted to wear every day but consistently left me aching, blistered and disappointed.

Having darned up the holes left by the aforementioned footwear, this new and improved sock has been browsing various shoe shops in search of the perfect sole. It’s a strange, entertaining and often puzzling shopping trip. The shoes for sale all wink and buff their buckles, but the majority fail to impress. The promise of real leather is all too often, upon closer inspection, nothing more than cheap plastic.

My friends will testify to the entertainment provided by my ruthless ridicule of the profound prickery of most potential partners. However, to be fair, since being thrust back into singledom, a few select shoes have enticed me enough to do the “one-step-forwards, two-steps-back” dating dance. When the music has stopped, I’ve exited stage-right with most of my toes intact. The fact that all but two of those shoes have exited…..stage–left…..after our first dance is another matter entirely. This, of course, is an inevitable part of the silly salsa you do when competing on Strictly-Come-Dating. The irony, is that this old sock is quite a good dancer…until I find a shoe that fits, one that busts a move past the Teflon-fibre exterior to reveal the closely guarded soft inner lining which is also my Achilles heel. My tempting tango thus transforms into the birdie song, with all the dignity of a glittery, befeathered Anne Widdecombe. Consequently, I’m left blindsided and tone deaf with two left feet.

I probably sound quite pessimistic, but I’m actually not. Sure, there may be a few creases in my clashing, quirky pattern but I’m not the ugliest sock in the drawer and I have an impressive and varied repertoire of dance moves to share with my partner. I’m not “one size fits all” and I’m proud of that. I’m also hopeful, hopeful that Kate’s mom is right, that there is indeed an old shoe that fully appreciates this old sock’s unique boogie. Wow! That shoe doesn’t realise how lucky he is!

#relationships #dating #love