Lesson Learned: Never Wear TOMS in a Thunderstorm

TOMS are the focal point of almost all of my outfits. I worship TOMS. I breathe TOMS. TOMS are my way of life. What I like most about TOMS is that they donate a pair of shoes to a child in a third-world country for every pair that I buy. So naturally, I have five pairs. I have a copper, a black, a white,  a blue striped, and a maroon dress pair. And I may or may not currently have a sixth pair in my shopping cart. Needless to say, I am obsessed.

I come from Des Moines, Iowa. We have snow, but we don’t have a lot of rain. I have worn TOMS in the snow and have been perfectly fine; Yes, they got a tad damp, but never unmanageably so .

That all changed last Thursday.

I put on my TOMS that morning. Even though the forecast predicted showers, I thought, “Hey! It’s only a bit of rain! They have never gotten too bad in the snow, so I can do this.”

Wow. Was I horribly wrong.

The day started off fine. Everything was going swimmingly. I was rocking a cute spiceberry thermal with some black jeans. I felt confident. I felt ready. Then, I walked into my  music theory class. Yes, I’m a Bienen student, and my professor was discussing major scales when I heard the rain begin. Luckily, I  packed my umbrella just in case, so I thought that my TOMS and I would still be okay.

When I left the Ryan Center (S.S. Bienen for all of those who know it by its stage name) around noon, I realized that my day was about to take a turn for the worse.

Puddles. So many puddles.

As I began the trek I realized I had a very important package at Plex that I had to pick up. I headed to Plex, the rain got worse and worse. Thunder and lightning made an appearance, and suddenly, even with my umbrella, I was soaked. It felt like I had  dove into a pool. With my clothes on. And my precious TOMs.

I got my package and made my way home, but the rain only persisted. It continued to explode. I felt like I was the captain of a ship that had to batten down the hatches. The rain just kept coming. My ship kept sinking, and the water kept persisting and invading my cargo.

Finally, I saw land-- I reached my dorm and opened the door. I made the long climb up to my second floor room, and I took off my shoes.

Destroyed. My beautiful black TOMS were destroyed.

They smelled like wet dog and they were completely torn up. It was as if the shoes were remnants of the wrapping paper after Christmas morning. Boy, had I made a grave error.

Never ever wear TOMS in a Thunderstorm. Lesson Learned.