"Rainbow Shoes: Soul Sister Connection"

Whenever there’s beautiful weather, like we’ve had this week, I think of two things: I get to wear sandals and I get to see Vanessa soon.
My cousin and I have always been inseparable. 

It sounds corny but we’re convinced that we’re really twins (even though we’re more than a year apart in age and she’s almost 6 foot and I’m barely over 5 foot). I’ve known her since she was born and we’ve always had a crazy connection from childhood. She lives in Virginia and I live in New York but that has never been a factor in our relationship. For a week in the summer, our families visit, yearly alternating what state. We firmly believe that distance makes the heart grow fonder and I’ve already decided I’m moving to Virginia when I graduate college.

We have a million inside jokes, can communicate an entire conversation in gestures and faces and can guess what the other is thinking. She is the one person who I’ve never been afraid to be 100% myself around and who understands me more than I understand myself. She is giving, optimistic, strong and kind-hearted. When I'm with her or I talk about her, all the corny cliches come out...but I can't help but say that I truly feel blessed to have her and when I'm with her I feel complete. I’ve never had such an incredible, undeniable connection with another human being and I’ve considered myself extremely lucky to have her in my life and on top of that, be related to her.

                                
We call each other soul sisters.

I love shopping with Vanessa. She’s one of the few people who have extremely similar taste in style to mine and we love all the same stores. We even had a chant when we were younger when we wanted our parents to take us to the mall (it involved a lot of clapping and embarrassing singing). We’ve since moved on from the chant for our parents since we can drive ourselves now, but we still pay a tribute with a few claps before we enter a mall.

When we were younger we loved anything rainbow and we loved to buy matching things. Since we are so alike it’s inevitable that we had countless jewelry and clothes that matched. But I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason because the other half of the reason was that so when we wore it, we could be reminded of the other.

When we found our “rainbow shoes” (yes, we’re aware they’re not actually fully rainbow) we knew we had to buy them immediately. Vanessa and I got them at Rue 21 and they cost a whooping 2 dollars each. They’re not exactly well made, but regardless we love them.

The thing about sandals and flip-flops is that they’re either incredibly comfortable or they’re really kind of uncomfortable. It’s not exactly natural to have a thong of plastic of leather between your toes and wear a shoe that slaps you back when you walk. But man, does it feel good to have that fresh spring air hit those toes after a long winter squished up into boots.

A few months ago Vanessa texted me in the middle of the night and I squinted at my phone without my glasses to read it.

“I’m having a terrible night.”

“What, why? Are you okay??” I asked. I was awake now.

“No, I’m having a bad night, I’m crying and then to make it even worse, my rainbow sandals broke and no one understands except you." 

“Awh, Ness. I love you, its okay. Do you need me to call? I miss you.”

Although I always want to be with Vanessa, I wanted more than anything to be with her in that moment. Sometimes it’s okay to cry over a broken shoe.

I’m always missing Vanessa. Even when I’m sitting right next to her, I know that my time with her is limited. The rainbow shoes, just like so many other things, were one of the ways we tried to be physically present in each other’s lives. We have the type of relationship that picks up right where it left off, but we still need a few things that make us feel closer together when we’re hundreds of miles apart. 

When I slip into these sandals I think about summer and I think about Vanessa. This summer our families are going to a beach in North Carolina for a week and I know we'll come back with a ridiculous amount of similar merchandise. The rainbow shoes are easily replaceable, but our connection definitely isn't.