Mom’s Mistake
When you’re my age – and when I say “a woman over 40” I mean a woman way over 40 – you can sometimes look back to a single event that has changed the rest of your life. This past week, one of those events came back to haunt me. But it wasn’t the kind of event you’d imagine. No; it wasn’t moving out of my parent’s house to live with Dennis’ family in 1971 when I thought we were going to get married.
It wasn’t even when I didn’t get that management job in Chicago that I had been promised. So, what event has had a huge effect on the rest of my life?
It was wearing those ill-fitting shoes Mom bought me in about 1961 that forever changed the bone on my insteps. . .
Yes, I know it sounds minor and even unimportant, but my feet are forever deformed as a result. There is a big bump or lump that wasn’t there before (And, no, I didn’t make this diagnosis myself; the foot doctor confirmed it). However, I am happy to report, this is the only single event in my life that has had lasting, negative effects.
Didn’t get that job? Wouldn’t have met – and married – Gary. Moving up to New York state to live with my controlling 19 year old fiance’s family? If I hadn’t, I may not have finished college in just 3.5 years (when I dumped him and went back to school). But, more importantly, it taught me that I should be true to myself and not to let someone else control me or make decisions for me.
I’ve got these great brown strappy sandals that irritated the hell out of my feet when I wore them last week, so I have to get rid of them. It breaks my heart. And it’s all because of those shoes Mom bought. I’ve never told her (and probably never will). After all, she’s allowed that one and only mistake.
Tags: decisions, men over 40, mistakes, mistakes I've made, Mom's decision, women over 40