My feet don’t match. The women on both sides of my family have severe bunions. My genes, combined with too many pairs of pointy shoes in the 80s, led to me develop large, painful bunions by the time I was 25.

One day, in my mid-twenties, I had to cut short a walk home from work and hop on the T because my feet hurt so badly. That was it. I loved walking in Boston and I decided this was no way to live. I made the decision to go under the knife and get the worse bunion removed surgically (my left one). I figured I’d go back and get the other one done later.

Well, the pain was SO bad after the surgery, I never went back and got the right foot done. (I was in a big surgical boot for 6 months and then I had to have a screw removed from my newly straightened big toe.)

In the grand scheme of things, a bunion is pretty minor, but my right foot still causes me a lot of pain, especially when wearing any kind of a dress shoe. When I have to get dressed up for something, the dilemma is always the shoes. What shoes could I possibly wear with this outfit that won’t hurt? There really are no comfortable dress shoes for me.

Consequently, I have worn flip-flops to more occasions than I care to remember. I have gold ones, silver ones, sparkly ones, beaded ones, leather ones, plus the usual plastic/foam ones. Flip-flops are really the only shoes that don’t hurt at all.

So, here’s to my numerous pairs of flip-flops. They don’t hide my ugly bunion from the world, but at least they showcase a nice pedicure.