One of our family traditions is taking Christmas photos for cards that we share with family and friends. 

In December 2018, I was pregnant with my first son, Jesse, who was due two weeks before Christmas.

In preparation for what promised to be a busy time, I coordinated all of our red and black outfits weeks in advance of his delivery. We knew the cards would probably go out just before Christmas, but we were okay with the tight timeline.

It was Saturday, December 22 and the boys were all dressed in their red sweaters and plaid shirts with black pants and shoes. 

I managed to find a red sweater dress that fit my 2-week post-baby body and maternity tights. 

The problem was my feet.

My feet did not swell during my pregnancy so I thought I had escaped the painful and disfiguring side-effect of pregnancy. However, during the delivery process, my feet swelled to four times their size—like hams.

I assumed that two weeks after delivery, the swelling would have receded. It. Did. Not.

I tumbled through every shoe in my closet that my usually narrow feet would fit. I couldn’t even get my toes in them.

I contemplated sneakers, but those were too tight as well.

In desperation, I turned to my slightly big summer jelly sandals. When I wear them they usually slide off a bit, but the cute bow made them one of my favorites. 

My husband convinced me that we could ask the photographer not to take shots of our feet.

I thought: “This is all I’ve got, let’s do it!”

On the way to the studio, passerbys stared at my feet with puzzled looks. It was December and really cold.

I was embarrassed, but on a mission.

It turned out that those sandals were the best decision ever. We stood and sat for over an hour during the photo session. I would have been uncomfortable teetering on my usual heels.

The only drawback was that the photographer ignore our request and did get my sandals in almost every shot.

 

So 2018 cards featured the newest addition to our family, Jesse, and my toes. Merry Christmas!