I'm officially a school marm

When would you say one becomes a "real" teacher? When you start wearing jumpers with pencils, apples, and rulers embroidered on them? When you start wearing t-shirts that say "Teachers have class?" (That one's for you, Mrs. Sassafras) or when you go to bed at 9:00 at night?

I think for me it's the teacher shoes. Many of you in the medical community will recognize the Dansko clogs. I had never heard of them until my nurse roommate mentioned them one night when I was complaining about how bad my feet hurt after school everyday. I mean, I do wear heels at least 3 days a week. I know, I must be on crack. Heels at school? But seriously--I have only so many pairs of comfortable shoes that are appropriate for work, and those only go with so many pants/skirts. And so I have a bit of a quandary.

And really, I've been ok with heels. Low heels, mind you. UNTIL. I tried on the Danskos belonging to my other roommate, dietician Katie. They felt pretty good. So, I wore them to school today. They made no fashion statement, but let me tell you--I felt like I was walking on clouds alllllllllllll day. Amazing--I didn't feel my feet. I will never wear heels to school again. It made the day so much better. I don't care if I ever match another day in my life.

I'm sure you could riverdance in them. They're big. They're bulky. They're clogs. They're ugly. And I will proudly wear them everyday of the rest of my working life. Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a real teacher.