by Jane Coryell

Created on: July 29, 2008

Summers almost over. I know it. The soles of my flip-flops are nearly gone. They are the beginning of my summer and the signal of the end. I know summer is fading fast when my flip-flops wear thin.

How exciting it is when the stores put them on the shelves! Aw, summer has arrived! I buy one in every color and wear practically nothing else. Enclosed shoes in the summer? Oh my, not I! That is the equivalent of wearing tight blue jeans on a hot day. Ugh!

Summer, a time of liberation. Oh the perfect beach bum I would make! Flip flops, shorts, sand and an open jeep now that is a life I crave! I'd be good at it. Oh, and don't forget the nail polish and heal buffer , for they are essential tools for serious flip-flop lovers.
It's not even the sound I love when you walk in them, it's the open air feeling! As for all the expert advice on not having enough support, how easily one could trip, bah humbug I say! My feet love them as much as I love them! They are as happy as I am every time I step into them! I suffer no corns or big red bumps on my toes from tight, heavy shoes, no sweaty, stinky toes or insoles have we. I never have to sit down to rest my aching feet or change into a more comfortable pair of shoes. I walk with ease and comfort and happiness! If they get dirty, you just wash, dry and go.

I'm secure enough in who I am that I don't have to wear espadrilles, wedges or heels in the presence of men to make me feel more feminine. I got my pink, girly flip flops! Flip flops have something to say for tall women as well. Miracuously shrinks you two inches to accommodate that not so tall man!

I'm not sure when my fascination began. Maybe it's that they bring back the days of my youth. I think every kid on the block had a pair of "tongs". Oh the fun of being a kid again. These magical "shoes" transport me back in time. Hot summer days under the shade tree, kicking off our tongs. Heading to the pool in our cheap, plastic shoes, kicking them off before we jumped in. Playing in the creek and not afraid to go home with ruined shoes. Life was good back then.

Or maybe it was the hippie days of my teenage years. Though in those days, I did prefer to wear the clunky, tall, enclosed shoes. I don't recall flip flops back then, but they would have fit right in with my bell bottom blue jeans and halter tops.

Yes, summer is fading fast. The stores are now filling their shelves with leather shoes, tennis shoes, boots and rain clogs. Not a pair of flip flops in sight. I think it's time to head south.

Learn more about this author, Jane Coryell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.