The Birkenstock Is Back

 

It’s happening.  Those are my feet today.  I am wearing Birkenstocks.  They are vintage, circa 1990. I did save them all these years just in case they came back in style.

I’m bringing them back.

I won’t take all the credit though. There have been murmurings of the Birkenstock hippie revival through ads in magazines. Nordstrom even sent me an email announcing their Birkenstock shoes.

So I couldn’t think of a better place to debut the eminent comeback of my Birkenstocks than our trip to Sunriver, Oregon.  We are headed there tomorrow on a Woolsey family trip.  There are 18 Woolseys who will be spending five nights in a 5,000 square foot house in the Sunriver resort town.  I may horseback ride in my Birkenstocks, if allowed.  You will be able to find me at the river sporting my Birkenstocks.  Hell, you may even see me wearing them out to dinner.

Now I will tell you my Birkenstock story.  When I was 19 years old I was obsessed with my Birkenstock shoes.  They were about $80 a pair, even back then.  Chris, my sister and I spent New Year’s Eve 1994 at Lake Tahoe.  If you have never been to Tahoe on New Year’s Eve, I will tell you it is a wild ride.  I had just bought myself a new pair of Birkie’s and I was excited to showcase them out, even if it wasn’t appropriate.  Well, that night I drank a few too many beers and in the massive crowds and 20 degree temperatures, I lost one of my Birkenstock shoes.  I cried.  I spent the rest of the night in freezing cold temperatures with a Birkenstock shoe on one foot, and the other foot bare. My Birkenstock lay lonely and pair-less on the cold streets of Tahoe forever more.

My mommy warned me not to go out on New Year’s Eve with my Birkenstock’s on, but I was 19 years old.  I was an entire year into the freedom of adulthood and bad decision-making, and I insisted on wearing the Birkenstocks.

That is my Birkenstock story. I hope you enjoyed it. The moral of the story is ALWAYS listen to your mommy.

I read this blog post to Chris while driving to Sunriver and Ava, who doesn’t miss a thing, was listening from the backseat.  At the end of my reading Ava said, “ha! that was funny.”  I said, “oh really? Thank you Ava.  Is there anything that would make the story better?” She said, “yeah.  It would be better if you don’t make it about Birkenstocks.”  Humph.

Until next time, the mothership is signing off.