When I say “shoes,” I actually mean multiple pairs of shoes. Trying shoes on Namine’s feet has always been a touchy thing, due to her complicated history. She loves her shoes, but rigid soles have often prevented us from even being able to try them on, to say nothing of actually walking in them.
That was our concern with getting Namine’s tap shoes. So when my mom ordered them, she ordered three pairs: one pair was slip-on, one pair was lace-up, and the third was actually a pair of jazz shoes. That third pair was a fail-safe of sorts; if neither pair of tap shoes were comfortable, we’d see about somehow attaching separate taps to the jazz shoes.
Namine wanted to try the slip-ons first. They were, to say the least, a difficult fit. The shoe size was correct, but as expected, the shoes themselves were fairly inflexible. With a little elbow grease and help from me, Namine did manage to get them on. She said they were not the most comfortable, but she wanted to stand in her walker anyway.
Standing up straight in her walker, Namine said these shoes were “a definite no.” She sat back down and I helped her get the lace-up shoes on and tied. Immediately, she said her feet were much more comfortable. She climbed up into her walker, and the smile never left her face.
The shoes were so comfortable, Namine tried out some dance moves. She did some kicks, hopped from one foot to the other, and did the shuffle she learned last week in tap class. “These shoes are perfect!”
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