1. Find a fabulous husband
2. Buy or build a gorgeous house
3. Have two children (preferably a boy first then a girl)
4. Buy red shoes
The first thing she did the day her fabulous husband gave her a little bit of money to, "Go and buy herself something pretty," was go to the store to get the perfect red shoes. When she tried them on, she realized she had nothing to wear with them. What did a person wear with red shoes?
"Cute shoes." Said the lady who she hadn't realized was next to her. She was wearing red shoes, red lipstick, and there was a little bit of red in her top. She looked great, but Sue could never pull off such a look. Sue looked down at the shoes said, "Yeah."
"You going to get them?"
"No. I have nothing to wear with them."
"Oh I'm sure you'd find something. I got mine after I started my business. I figured if I were brave enough to be a woman who started a business, I could most certainly be brave enough to wear red shoes. I know it's silly, but they are my favorite shoes. They make me feel like I could wrestle an alligator if I wanted to."
"You know, it's actually not that silly."
But, Sue couldn't bring herself to take the risk. She realized it took a sort of boldness to wear red shoes in public; the kind of boldness it takes for a woman to start a business, wrestle an alligator, write a one hit wonder, swim with an elephant, or try out for the lead role in a Hollywood movie. The boldness of bucket lists. So she decided not to get them until she did something worthy of a woman who wears red shoes.
Throughout Sue's life she got everything on her list: the fabulous husband, the gorgeous house, and she even had two kids. A boy first, named Samuel, and then a girl named Brittany, just as she planned. The kids kept her very busy. She woke up every morning, packed their lunches, got them up and ready for school, fed them breakfast, and sent them out the door. Then she would do the dishes, the laundry, and whatever else needed doing. When the kids were grown, she dedicated her entire life to her husband. Making breakfast, packing his lunch, making dinner, cleaning the house, tying his tie every morning, and kissing him goodbye and hello everyday. This was her life. It was a lovely life, but everyday was the same.
Over the years, she forgot about the list and the red shoes. Well, maybe she didn't forget. Maybe she just never mentioned it. Maybe she thought of her list often and thought, "Three out of four isn't too bad." Maybe she became content with life, which is okay. Being content and appreciating what you have is good.
But now she was lying in a hospital bed. She heard the doctor tell her family that she didn't have long. All of a sudden, red shoes were all she could think about. Red shoes and all of the things that she didn't do to be worthy of them. She realized she could never wrestle an alligator. This was the only part of dying she couldn't stand. Her daughter was sitting with her in her final moments, one last conversation with her baby.
"Mom, do you have any regrets? Anything I should avoid regretting?"
"I never bought red shoes."
"Red shoes? That's your biggest regret?"
"Yes. I always bought black or brown so they would go with everything, but I have always wanted a pair of red shoes."
These were her last words. Brittany never figured out if this was really her biggest regret or if these were the ramblings of old, dying, senile woman. So, Brittany went out and bought two pairs of red shoes, just in case. She got a pair to bury with mom so she wouldn't have to regret it in heaven, and a pair for her in case she ever felt the need to wear them. But, seriously, what would anyone wear with red shoes?
I don't write this to depress you, because Sue really did live a wonderful life. I write this so that you might be inspired to do something worthy of a woman who wears red shoes.
By: Acacia Faye
No comments:
Post a Comment