One small step for Woman...

These shoes? Right here?

They're mine.

But that's not all. Oh no. There's something even more miraculous, more astonishing, even, than me actually having time to try on shoes. Alone.

The most exciting part was, when I tried on my ginormous size of 10.5, THEY WERE TOO BIG!

For those of you who have cute tiny feet, you're not getting this. You have no idea how it feels to have the same size feet as your husband. When those of us gifted with super-size feet try on shoes, our first thought isn't whether the shoe is pretty or the right color or appropriate material. No. We think, "Do my feet look HUGE in these?" It's the equivalent of trying on jeans and asking if they make your butt look fat - if your butt is, indeed, fat.

You especially don't know what it's like to wear the biggest possible "normal" size, only to have your foot GROW when you're pregnant. Suddenly my size 10s were too small. I was already relegated to supportive flats because of the painful neuroma I have in the ball of my right foot - to say nothing of my career as a full-time Mom in which I rarely have a need to dress up. My choices became limited.

Now, I have to say that there are decent options: Mephisto, Naot, Merrell. And a lot of them are actually stylish instead of simply functional.

I looked for the table with those brands right away at Nordy's yesterday. Feeling crazy, it being the new decade and all, I actually tried on a 2 1/2 inch heel. In a 10.5, which, incidentally, was the size of the Merrells I wore to the store.

You cannot imagine my elation when I took a step and MY FEET CAME RIGHT OUT.

The saleswoman gave me that slightly wary look usually reserved for dealing with the insane. She was young. No sweet potato was smeared on the shoulder of her smart little shirtdress. She probably wears the same size she wore last year, and has a whole closet of hip clothes she can actually fit into.

She was very sweet, but she couldn't grasp what a Big Deal this was for me.

She measured my feet and my toes didn't quite reach the 10 line! She had to bring me out the size 10s - and the 9 1/2s!

People! Are you ready for this? MY FEET SHRUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I know that a size 10 isn't delicate. But to me, it's a little something I got back after having my three kids, you know? If I can't yet fit into my size 4s and 6s, then at least I can get back into my old size of shoe.

It's another toe back to the world of the Old Me, before my feet needed to grow to keep up with the effort of carrying around those babies.

And the other thing? I didn't even ponder whether these shoes made my feet look like battleships. As far as I'm concerned, they were as dainty and light as fairy slippers.