My Flip Flop Fetish

My name is Susanne Brent and I'm addicted to flip flops. In my defense, I  live in the desert, or as one flight attendant  said on a recent trip as we were about to touch down in Phoenix, "we are now landing on the sun." The mild, oh hell mostly hot, weather makes wearing closed-toed shoes uncomfortable and sweaty. Here in Arizona we like to let our tootsies breathe.

Still, I've noticed the longer I live in Arizona the more flip flops I purchase. Each time I shop, I look for more flip flips to buy. I started to survey my flip flop collection, and started worrying about my habit.

Pictured above are my favorites. Now mind you, I'm not breaking the bank with my, um, addiction.  I don't spend much on my flip flops. The highest I spend is $15, usually much less. I bought the ones with touches of blue in Colorado, the pink ones at Sears while shopping for a toaster, and the ones with jewels (you can't see them sparkle in the photo) I have kept for two years. That's a long time in flip flop years.

 These are my flip flops that were once my favorite, first-tier flip flops, but now second tier. They are tired. I have a lot of great memories with them, and I just hate to let them go. I wear them to the pool or slip into them getting the mail, or throw them in my car so I can put them on after hiking and set my toes free.

These are the flip flops I wear when I do something in my back yard, like water the plants or hang laundry.

These are the flip flops I wear when I step outside the front door to put out the trash or talk with a neighbor.

As a kid, I used to go around barefoot all the time. The older I got, I realized my feet looked more like hooves, dry and cracked. I never went for pedicures but on a special occasion when I did, the woman in charge of painting my toe nails would make a tsk tsk noise and say something to her coworkers about my feet. I'm guessing, though I couldn't really tell as she was speaking in Vietnamese. As she scrubbed away she looked annoyed, and when I looked at my feet compared to the other women getting a pedicure, mine did look pretty nasty.  She would always tell me about a certain lotion I could use. Hint. Hint. My barefoot days ended, and now I'm a regular client at the local salon.

These are my sad flip flops. They are the ones that I don't wear in public anymore as they are too old, their sparkle dimmed, their color faded. I only come across them now and then when I open up my outside storage room door. I should just throw them away.  And yet, I hate to part with them. I can get rid of pictures, couches, cars, but I have a hard time letting go of my flip flops. These are my neglected flip flops.

Finally, these are my most favorite ugly flip flops. I know they are bad, but they are so comfortable. I slip them on and feel as if I am walking on pillows. The green snake pattern matches nothing I wear, but who can resist comfortable feet.

There was an article in the paper recently about flip flops getting dirty easily and then look too ugly to wear. It suggested soaking them  in a tub of water and powdered laundry detergent then using a toothbrush and soap bar to scrub them clean.

I don't know about you...but I can't imagine spending my free time scrubbing my flip flops with a toothbrush. However, after seeing these photos I better do something as all my flip flops look as if they need a bath. Sigh. Maybe it will be easier just to go shopping! Any excuse to feed my flip flop fetish.