baby's got a new pair

I was glad my family decided not to give Christmas gifts this year.




We planned instead to spend time together and, since geographic togetherness is pretty rare these days, to let that be the gift.

But this year (like my fifth Christmas, when all I wanted was a pair of Wonder Woman scissors) my want was specific and material and nameable.

I wanted salsa shoes. The real kind, with suede soles and straps and high heels.

But I wouldn't buy them, because there were more practical things I needed. And if I was going to get shoes, shouldn't they be shoes that I could wear outdoors? Or shouldn't my holiday spending be on something more meaningful or beneficent anyway?

And then on Monday night at the salsa club they had a raffle for—what else?—a lovely pair of salsa shoes. So I bought three tickets.

Knowing one of my numbers had to win.

And 173503.

It did!

[illustration from luciajohnson]