My grandmother in-law (my husband’s grandma) died on Friday. She was in her mid-nineties. She was an amazing woman. Up until only about four or five years ago, she was driving. She was going into the city to go shopping and she was going to Harriman’s with my in-laws.
She was a “big” shoe person. I think I bought the most expensive shoes I have in my closet when I was with her. She loved “good shoes that lasted.” I’m sure when someone cleans out her closet, they will find all her shoes still in boxes wrapped up. Personally, I don’t think she wore all the shoes she bought, but I wasn’t with her all the time to know that.
We became friends after my kids were born. Before that, I was a little afraid of her. One time, before I was married, I mentioned that the flowers were beautiful at an affair we were at and she went over to the table, picked up the flowers, handed them to me and said, “Take them!” After that, I was a little intimidated. She was a strong woman who knew what she wanted.
We both loved shoes. For a couple of years, whenever there was a sale at Robert Clergerie, Ferragamo, or even sometimes Stuart Weitzman, I would pick her up in Queens and we would go on a shoe shopping spree. Whenever I saw her, we would talk about shoes. She would also talk about her life in the city, but that’s another story.
Yesterday, I got the urge to buy shoes. I asked my daughter if she wanted to go to DSW in Westbury and look around. She said, yes and we drove to Westbury.
As I was strolling along the aisles of DSW (and there are a lot of aisles), I thought about the times that I went shoe shopping with my grandmother-in-law. It made me smile. As a tribute to her, I ended up buying a pair of bright blue Bottaga Veneta shoes. Hey, they were on sale!
Hilary:
Just something to consider – whatever shoes get left behind can be put to good use by Catholic Charities. They are collecting shoes in good condition to pass along to those who cannot afford them.