Missionaries are famous for wearing out their shoes, since they walk all day, every day. Pepper and I don’t walk quite that much; our mission responsibilities are pretty different. But for the past eleven months, I’ve been wearing a shirt and tie (and dress shoes) for many hours every day. This is new for me, and time has taken its inevitable toll.
I bought these shoes at the start of our mission, and they’re really comfortable. They’re not full-on proper dress shoes, but they suit my style. In any case, after eleven months the soles are both cracked halfway open, the insole is worn through, and the laces are fraying. It’s time to retire them. I picked up a new pair of the same shoes and can finish my mission with them. And I’ll even have them handy as I continue “civilian” life back home!
In a weird way, it feels good to know you’ve worked hard enough to wear out a pair of shoes.