#so question

No, not her she’s dead, I mean the other one

That’s their mother FIGURE, I said their mother.

About shoes.

See, I have size 42/43 (EU, =9 UK, 9,5 US) and as a woman, well, that's pretty damn big. I feel like the average women's shoe size around these parts is 38 or something.

I also have orthopedic inlay soles. Which I absolutely need in order to walk pain-free. Case in point: my current soles need replacing, I'm a bit too late making the appointment for that, and now I can't walk 10 meters before my feet start to hurt. Bad.

Now there used to be a time when soles in shoes could generally be taken out, making it easier to put inlays in them. For some reason, that is no longer the case. With women's shoes, at least. The solution might seem simple: get men's shoes! Well, see, I tried that, and though I have very wide feet as well as long for which men's shoes would be perfect, those are generally too high so it does not give proper support. Something about different foot shapes I guess.

So I need shoes a size bigger to get those damn orthopedic inlays in.

Most damn shops don't even have shoes bigger than size 42! I need a 43 at least or even a 44 because of the inlays, and NO SHOP HAS THEM. Most webshops don't even have them!

And even if they do, I cannot FUCKING buy shoes online because my feet have this ENORMOUS LIST OF MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS and I need to be absolutely 100% certain that my inlays fit in the shoe and my feet will still fit, too.

Well, maybe it is time for orthopedic shoes, then.

Yeah! Maybe! But it is nigh impossible to get medical clearance to get my health insurance to cover even part of those bitches and I don't have €1000,- or more just lying around to spend on shoes!

And here's the kicker: the rare few occasions that I find shoes in the right size? Affordable, too? They do not meet any of the requirements my feet have, like rigidity—the soles cannot be too flexible—or a high top—because my ankles need extra support—and god forbid my shoes have heels. Why do people only sell size 43 fucking PUMPS? Why???

You'd think that if there was some level of shoe-discrimination to suffer at a large shoe-size like mine, it would be 'oh no I can't find any fashionable shoes!' But no. I can't find any practical shoes.

Or, rather.

I can't find any shoes.

I'm sorry that my feet are so large. I'm sorry that their bone structure is all wonky and that they cause me pain if I don't take special measures.