Once there was a pair of shiny white clogs

While I was looking through some old photos, I came across this picture of myself, standing on my oldest brother's porch. It is funny - I can't remember the purple plaid coat at all; however, if you look down at my feet, I totally remember those shoes!

I remember going shopping with my mom and my sister to buy the shoes. Clogs were in fashion that year. My high school aged sister had them and I wanted some too.

I picked out a pair of shiny white clogs. My mom tried to talk me into a nice pair of leather clogs. They were a little more expensive; but, they would last longer. I snubbed the idea. I didn't have any understanding of quality or what "lack of quality" meant to my shoes. My only concern was how pretty the shoes looked in the store.

I am a little surprised that my mom let me spend hard earned money on the "shiny shoes." She knew exactly what was going to happen to them. It wasn't long at all before the toes were scuffed and the shiny white surface began peeling off. I wore those scuffed toe shoes for many months before I was able to get a new pair. 

Mom's know that sometimes we have to learn by experience - My lack of knowledge certainly lead me to a little new found wisdom: Always listen to your mother!