When Your Shoes Are Too Big

Well my birthday in Beantown was a bit of a bust (thought it clearly makes for good alliteration). When I arrived, my sister was down with the stomach flu, a flu that then proceeded to make its way around the house, so I spent most of the weekend helping to take care of the kids. The bug ultimately travelled with me back to New Jersey, where it felled me for two days.

Not to be totally outdone by the flu, though, I had a bit of a birthday shopping spree--well a mini one. There was a fabulous sale (my sister, I think I've mentioned before, is the queen of sales) on sneakers and athletic wear. I needed new sneakers and new hiking boots. So I got both for $99. A steal, huh?

Today, I finally felt well enough, post-flu to get back to my dissertation writing and back to the gym to try out my new sneaks. Much to my chagrin, my sneakers seem to be too big! Now I can't tell if the problem is that my old ones (a pair of old aerobics sneakers, if you can imagine this, left behind by a long-gone ex) were just too small or if these ones are actually too big. I can't help but think metaphorically, though, and wonder if my dissertation, like my shoes, might be too big for me to grow into! A topic for another day, no doubt.