Not sure the signficance of this

Last week I finally gave in and purchased a new pair of casual shoes. Not just a new pair, but a new style. For the past decade (or longer, probably more like 15 years) I’ve been wearing Sperry Topsiders. The most recent pair I’ve had for at least three years… I can’t remember when i got them, but it was well before moving to California in 2003.

So, while browsing our local REI I saw a few shoes that caught my fancy. One of the folks there measured my feet, and informed me that no, my size is not 10.5, but 11.5.

Huh? My feet have grown a full size since the last time I bought shoes? How did that happen?

I should have figured something had changed when the last two times I’d gone backpacking, I got a serious case of black toe on both feet — wearing hiking boots I’d had for over 10 years, and no previous problems.

As best I can figure it is due to my preference of wearing sandals over sneakers or shoes. A few years ago I got a pair of Birkenstocks (the Taupe Suede Arizona) and wear them spring, summer, and fall. The bones in my feet appear to have taken the opportunity to spread out, hence the increase in size.

What did I end up getting for the new casual shoe? A pair of Keen Portsmouth Bison. Extremely comfortable, a much more aggressive tread than Topsiders have, and as Michele says, “Change is good.”

Unfortunately, I can’t make any scientific claims about the impact of the change in the size of my foot.