What not to wear

Monday’s college tours proved interesting. The one school I had no interest in Michael attending turned out to be the most appealing, and the school I was sure he’d pick proved a tad problematic. We have tons of information to sift through and a bunch of financial questions to answer (like who in the world has $40,000/year to pay for college?). But as a service to my friends who have children slightly younger than Michael, I’d like to provide the one piece of advice I wish I’d had before I went on those two campus tours Monday.

Do. Not. Wear. Heels.

I guess I thought we’d sit in a conference room, go over his transcript, talk class schedules and financial stuff. Somewhere along the line my brain didn’t process the word, “tour,” because if it had, I most certainly would have worn flats.

College #1 is, thankfully, not a sprawling campus. It’s comprised of three main buildings which are fairly close to each other. I was fine through this whole tour. It wasn’t until I sat down in the car to head to College #2 that I realized my choice of footwear was not the wisest. “Oh, well,” I thought, “If the next place is like this, I’ll be fine.”

Not so much.

College #2 is set on a beautiful, wooded piece of land. A very large, wooded piece of land. And there are many, many buildings separated by lots and lots of walkways. And we walked on all of them. I’m pretty sure we were on some of them twice.

By the time we were finished, my big toes were bleeding and I wasn’t sure my feet would ever go back in a pair of shoes again. And I was okay with that. Perhaps going barefoot would be a new trend. I was willing to be the trailblazer for the barefoot look.

We stopped for a potty break before heading home but I couldn’t get out of the car. Turns out I can’t do the barefoot look because I cannot walk barefoot in a gas station. Sean and Michael found some Band-Aids for me and I began doctoring my toes that by this point were screaming at me. Pretty sure they were saying, “Why didn’t you wear the cute black flats?!”

Oh, little piggies, I was thinking the same thing.

So for all you Moms heading out for college tours, remember, write down your questions about class size and job placement after graduation and financial aid. And please, I am begging you, remember to wear flats. Your toes will thank me.