#5 He Provides Me With Shoe Therapy

Women are born with a sharply tuned shopping intuition. This provides us with a sense that recognizes the brands and products specifically made for ourselves and our households. Leave such a task to a man and you will usually find your home over spent and under satisfied. (I do say usually because I know there are some gifted men out there.) Unfortunately, we women are also born with the same sharply tuned intuition to shop whenever we begin to feel any state of neediness well up inside. This includes, but is not limited to, days when we: feel sad, feel lonely, are feeling fat, are feeling ugly, had a bad day at work, are on our period, got in an argument with our husband/boyfriend/best friend/enemy...I'm fortunate though. For most women, the neediness shopping can put a real wedge between them and their spouse. My husband doesn't get mad, in fact when I tell him I've spent some money I don't have much of a reaction at all. Of course, that can all depend on how out of control you get with it. Though I am needy, I tend to sale shop my neediness.

In fact, many times my husband will give into my need before I even do. (Though I can be needy, I am practical too. As I feel the pang to neediness shop, I have the practical side of me whispering, "Now you know you need to be saving that money!")

Most recently my neediness shopping has gone to feed a nonsensical shoe fetish that I have had ever since I was in high school. I blame my grandmother. She would take me shopping and buy me four pairs of shoes at a time. Therefore, it wasn't hard for me to stack up quite a collection of shoes.Over the years, as my grandmother took me shopping less and less, my shoe fetish has transformed into what can only be known as shoe therapy. Some unknown something (as it always is) drives me to the need to go shoe shopping, to search through the wide assortment of bright colors and soft colors, high heels and low heels, with flowers, without flowers....so many different options, and always something new and different available.Most recently, I needed a new pair of black flats. My old pair was in serious need of a garbage can as the heels were beginning to separate from the bottoms thus providing me with a constant self-conscious feeling whenever I wore them in public.

To DSW my husband and I went. (Side note here: I must say, I tend to spend my shoe therapy sessions specifically at DSW. In a way it's a good thing because: 1. DSW is "Designer Shoes, Warehouse Prices" and 2. At DSW you rack up points to earn rewards certificates. So, after I spend a certain amount I get some money back....to spend more....at DSW. Hmmm...)

When the store had almost proven useless for the perfect pair of black flats, I found them. Soft leather made to fit perfectly to my foot (which is no easy task), and an awesome buckle-like piece decorating the top of the toe. The problem, the price tag. Another problem, they were awesome in white too. So awesome that I instantly envisioned myself wearing them throughout summer days with jeans, with shorts, with skirts, with everything!Long story short, that day I went home with the black pair, shortly after my husband treated me to another session of shoe therapy and the white pair were mine as well.

While I am not proud of my uncontrollable shoe fetish (and its product: the obscene amount of shoes found in my closet) I am proud to have a husband who endures my neediness with a mellow, laid back attitude.

Now, is it absurd to hear that during this blog post I have been simultaneously surfing the internet for sales on shoes?