Woodstock...HA!

I like the feeling of mud squishing underneath my shoes. I like sliding in the mud as I trek to school in the morning. I like the way the mud deceives the pedestrian into thinking it is stable and firm, when in fact it is actually gushy and unstable. I welcome mud into my life when the sun comes closer and the snow decides to change form. All is good and I am giddy about the changing of the seasons, fall to winter, winter to spring. But there is the shoe issue, which completely smolders any fire sparked by thoughts of mud. When I go squishing, sliding, and gushing my way through the mud, my shoes become undistinguishable as shoes. If I want to go traipsing through the mud, then I must wash and/or wipe off my chosen shoes of the day afterwards. This becomes time consuming and quickly irritating. I have to squeeze 10-15 more minutes into my daily regime to clean my shoes, before heading to school where they will get dirty en route, once I reach school, in order to enter the school where everyone has spotless shoes which you could slurp borsch off of, and after returning home in the afternoon. It is all just too much for me after one day of wiping and, heaven forbid you let the mud dry, scrubbing. I try to outsmart the situation by wearing different shoes the next day. This is quickly squashed when I look down at the two pairs of shoes I can choose from that are fit for the current weather. At least I can go two days without cleaning a pair of shoes, but then I have to clean two pairs instead of one. Hmmm, I could wrap bags around my feet and take them off when I get to school. This would work if grocery bags weren't as sacred here as cows are to people in India. It isn't like I can avoid the mud like I can my host mom's racitoare or the frog size spider guarding the outhouse. Thank goodness I bought Kleenexes in bulk and have plenty of elbow grease. Oh, this is going to be a long spring.