There are moments in your life when you carry so much weight that you forget what it feels like to simply breathe without pressure. You know the weight I’m talking about—the kind that doesn’t announce itself dramatically, doesn’t arrive with sirens or warning signs. Instead, it slides onto your shoulders one quiet piece at a time. A responsibility here. An expectation there. A disappointment, a setback, an unanswered question, a responsibility you didn’t ask for, a burden you didn’t choose.

And before you realize it, you’re waking up every day with the heaviness of things that no one else sees. You’re balancing the invisible. You’re managing the emotional weight that never makes it into your conversations. And the truth is, you’re handling more than most people will ever understand.

This is why you need to love yourself a little extra right now.

Not because you’re weak. Not because you’re fragile. Not because you’re breaking.

You need to love yourself because you’ve been operating at a level of emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical output that most people will never recognize. You show up, even when your heart is tired. You encourage people while silently fighting your own doubts. You support others while wondering who, if anyone, really understands what’s happening inside your mind.

And that’s exactly where this talk begins—at the crossroads where exhaustion and faith collide.

Double-spaced paragraphs now begin, as required.

You are doing things that nobody sees. That alone is a sentence heavy enough to sit with for a minute. Because when nobody sees it, it feels like it doesn’t count. When nobody acknowledges it, you start to wonder if it even matters. When nobody affirms it, you catch yourself questioning whether you’re just spinning your wheels in the dark, doing work that seems invisible to the world but feels overwhelming to your heart.

But just because people don’t see it doesn’t mean God doesn’t. And in reality, that’s the point—He sees it. He sees all of it. Every act of faithfulness. Every quiet sacrifice. Every moment you dug deep to stay patient. Every time you remained calm when your emotions were ready to set fire to the room. Every moment you protected someone else’s peace while yours was unraveling. Every time you chose kindness when anger would have been easier. Every time you stayed strong even when you weren’t sure strength was still in you.

God sees what others overlook. God sees the version of your life that isn’t posted anywhere. God sees the weight you carry behind the scenes. God sees the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. God sees the tears that never made it down your face because you swallowed them before they had a chance to fall.

And this is where the compassion of God becomes something personal. He doesn’t see you through the lens of public performance—He sees you through the lens of personal reality. He sees what the world applauds, but even more than that, He sees what the world never notices. He sees your heart. He sees your effort. He sees the hidden stories that never make it into your conversations. And He honors your journey, even when you don’t feel like it’s worth honoring.

This is why being kind to yourself isn’t optional. It is necessary. It is survival. It is obedience. And it is spiritual maturity. We’ve been conditioned to believe that strength comes from pushing through everything without stopping. But strength doesn’t only show up in the push—it also shows up in the pause. It shows up in the moment you choose to breathe instead of break. It shows up in your decision to rest for a moment instead of pretending that nothing affects you.

You were never made to run without compassion for yourself. You were made to step into the same grace you willingly give to others. You were made to be gentle with your own soul. You were made to treat yourself with the same kindness Jesus treated the weary, the hurting, the overwhelmed, and the forgotten.

Think about Jesus for a moment—think about how He handled people who were tired, hurting, confused, or misunderstood. Not once did He tell them to “push harder.” Not once did He shame them for being emotionally drained. Not once did He tell them to pretend they were fine. He didn’t dismiss their humanity. He honored it. He leaned into it. He dignified their struggle. He sat with them in their realness. He offered them rest, not rules. He offered them compassion, not criticism. He offered them healing, not pressure.

So why is it so hard for us to treat ourselves with the same compassion that He gives us freely? Why do we extend oceans of grace to the world and then whisper judgment to ourselves? Why are we gentle with others but harsh with our own soul?

It’s because we’ve learned to survive life instead of experience life. We’ve learned to carry burdens instead of release them. We’ve learned to operate on empty without asking why we’re so afraid to refill our spiritual tank. We’ve learned to perform strength because we don’t want to disappoint anyone. But in the middle of all of that learning, we’ve forgotten something: we are human.

You are human. You are allowed to need rest. You are allowed to need encouragement. You are allowed to need healing. You are allowed to need reassurance. You are allowed to need God’s strength. You are allowed to need a moment to breathe.

When God looks at you, He doesn’t see someone failing. He doesn’t see someone weak. He doesn’t see someone falling behind. He sees a child He loves. He sees a life He is shaping. He sees a heart that is learning. He sees someone still standing despite the battles that tried to take you out long before this season. And He sees someone who deserves kindness—not because of performance, but because of identity.

You deserve kindness because you belong to Him.

You deserve care because you were created in His image.

You deserve compassion because He has compassion toward you.

You were never meant to be your own enemy. You were never meant to be your own harshest critic. You were never meant to carry the responsibility of the world on your shoulders without also remembering that God stands with you, fights for you, and strengthens you.

This is where the shift begins—by understanding that loving yourself a little extra right now is not selfish. It is spiritual. It is holy. It is needed. When Jesus told us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” it wasn’t an invitation to think low of yourself. It wasn’t an instruction to treat yourself as an afterthought. It wasn’t permission to pour endlessly into others while starving your own soul.

You cannot love your neighbor well if you do not love yourself deeply.

Many people try to pour from an empty heart, wondering why they feel resentful, drained, or overwhelmed. Many are trying to be vessels for God while refusing to let God fill them. Many are trying to represent heaven while ignoring their own need for healing. But the truth is simple: God never asked you to be exhausted for Him. He asked you to abide in Him.

Abiding requires presence. Presence requires stillness. Stillness requires compassion. Compassion requires kindness toward your own soul.

Loving yourself a little extra right now means you allow God to meet you where you actually are—not where you pretend to be. It means you give yourself permission to slow down long enough for God to strengthen you. It means you stop punishing yourself for being human. It means you stop expecting perfection from a soul that was never designed to carry the weight of perfection.

You are not behind. You are not forgotten. You are not invisible. You are not failing.

You are growing.

Growth is messy. Growth is uncomfortable. Growth is inconsistent. Growth is painful. Growth is uncelebrated.

But growth is holy.

God sees the patience you practice even when nobody notices. He sees the moments you choose faith instead of fear. He sees the nights you pray when your voice is shaking. He sees the times you forgive when your heart is hurting. He sees the strength it takes for you to get up every morning when life feels heavy. He sees the moments you keep fighting for your calling even when the road feels long.

God sees it all—and nothing you do goes unnoticed by Him.

You may not feel celebrated, but heaven sees your faithfulness. Heaven records your effort. Heaven acknowledges your unseen obedience. Heaven is aware of every unseen act of love, every quiet sacrifice, every moment you chose peace over war, patience over frustration, healing over hurting.

This is why you need to be kind to yourself. Because kindness is not just a gift you give to the world—it is a gift you must also give to the person God created you to be. Kindness is what creates the space for healing. Kindness is what creates the oxygen for growth. Kindness is what creates the foundation for restoration. Kindness is what allows God’s love to take root deeply inside you.

And sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do—the holiest thing you can do—is to rest. To breathe. To treat yourself like someone God loves. To sit down for a moment and acknowledge that while the world may not truly understand the weight you carry, God does.

There is something sacred about the moment you decide to take care of yourself. There is something holy about the moment you say, “I need a break.” There is something powerful about the moment you tell your soul, “It’s okay to be tired.” There is something transformative about the moment you stop judging yourself and instead allow God to minister to you.

You do not need to earn God’s kindness. You do not need to earn God’s compassion. You do not need to earn God’s love. You do not need to earn rest.

You are allowed to heal. You are allowed to grow. You are allowed to breathe. You are allowed to be human. You are allowed to be held by God.

If you feel tired today, God sees you. If you feel unseen, God sees you. If you feel overwhelmed, God sees you. If you feel forgotten, God sees you. If you feel stretched thin, God sees you. If you feel like you’re holding everything together with the last thread, God sees you.

And He is not disappointed in you. He is not frustrated with you. He is not impatient with you. He is not asking for more from you.

He is offering more to you.

More strength. More mercy. More compassion. More rest. More peace. More clarity. More healing.

You are not alone in this. You are not invisible in this. You are not fighting by yourself. You are not enduring this season without purpose. God sees you. God is with you. God is strengthening you. God is healing you. God is rebuilding you. God is calling you to treat yourself with the same love He pours out on you daily.

So love yourself a little extra right now. Speak gently to your soul. Show compassion to your journey. Breathe deeper. Rest longer. Give yourself the grace God already gave you.

You are doing better than you realize. You are growing more than you can see. You are further along than you feel. And you are seen by the One who matters most.

---

Watch Douglas Vandergraph’s inspiring faith-based videos on YouTube

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Your friend in Christ, Douglas Vandergraph

#love #faith #hope #christianinspiration #encouragement #motivation #Jesus #grace #healing #strength

Talve saabudes muutub maailm justkui veidi pehmemaks ja helgemaks. Lume hääletu langemine, akna taga kumavad tuled ning tubades leviv piparkoogilõhn tekitavad erilise meeleolu, mis kutsub inimesi peatuma ja märkama väikseid rõõme. Selle vaikse ja hubase aja juurde kuulub ka üks tore traditsioon, mis äratab nii lastes kui ka täiskasvanutes sooje tundeid – jõuluõhtul esitatud väikesed salmid ja read, mida me kõik oleme kunagi õppinud, harjutanud ja rõõmuga ette kandnud. Nendes peitub midagi sügavalt süütut ja siirast.

Jõululaule ja -jutte teame me palju, kuid jõululuuletused on midagi, mis loovad väga isikliku sideme. Need võivad olla naljakad, armsad, õpetlikud või ka veidi mõtlikud. Olgu need kirjutatud vanaema kulunud vihikusse või leitud uuest lasteluuletuste kogust – igaüks neist toob kaasa killukese jõulutunnet. Paljudes peredes on tavaks, et kingi avamiseks tuleb mõni salm ette lugeda. See väike hetk, kui kõik jäävad kuulama ja laps püüab oma parimal oskusel sõnad ritta seada, jääb sageli perekonna ühisesse mälupagasisse.

Tänapäeval otsitakse inspiratsiooni igalt poolt – raamatutest, internetist, varasematest pühadest või ka enda südamest. Just ise loodud ja kirjutatud read kannavad kõige rohkem tähendust, sest need sünnivad sellest, mida inimene parasjagu tunneb. Nii saavad jõulusalmid olla kui väikesed kingitused, mis ei vaja pakkepaberit ega paela, vaid ainult veidi aega ja soovi mõelda kellelegi heaga.

Viimaks võibki öelda, et nende lühikeste värsiridade suurim väärtus peitub lihtsuses – soovides tuua rõõmu, märgata lähedasi ja tunda, et pühadeaeg on midagi enamat kui vaid kingid kuuse all.

Blätterlos reckt sich der Baum,

bretterlos streckt sich der Steg,

allein am grün-weißen Leuchtturm

erhebt sich eine Tanne in ihrem grünen Kleid,

weihnachtlich dorthin dekoriert grüßt sie

die heimkehrenden Seefahrer:innen.

Sanft und weich spülen die Wellen ans Ufer

über den braun-weißen Sand.

Tief ins Wasser versunken sind die Köpfe

der Schwanenfamilie, die schwarzen

Enten lauschen den heiseren Schreien der weißen Möwen.

Glühend leuchten die Feuerstellen in die kühle Dämmerung,

der Rauch des verkohlten Holzes dringt in die Wintermäntel.

Eine kurze Geschichte.

„Woran denkst Du?“

Robby bewegt sich auf sie zu und stellt eine Tasse Tee auf den Tisch neben ihrem Sessel. Selma schaut gedankenverloren auf.

„An den Sinn des Lebens.“

Robby prustet laut heraus. „Hätte ich nur nicht gefragt. Eigentlich wollte ich nur ein wenig Smalltalk halten. Aber ihr Deutschen müsst ja immer gleich tiefsinnig werden.“ 

Selma lächelt. 

„Wir könnten doch einfach nur über das Wetter plaudern.“ 

schlägt Robby vor. 

Selma blickt durch die hellen Gardinen über die Terrasse in den parkähnlichen Garten und sieht, dass es dämmert. Am Himmel zeichnet sich ein rötlichgelber Streifen ab, der die kahlen Bäume in einem fahlen Licht erscheinen lässt. 

Robby öffnet die Türe zur Terrasse. Die hereinströmende Luft ist erstaunlich mild für diese Jahreszeit. 

“Es riecht nach verbranntem Holz.”

Irgendwoher ertönt Musik.

“Last Christmas … “

Robby singt mit.

Es klingt scheusslich.

Selma betrachtet Robby. Er ist nicht wirklich schön.

Seine Arme und Beine sind dürr. Er bewegt sich statisch.

Seine Augen leuchten grell.

Und seine Stimme, seine Stimme schnarrt wie ein rostiges Blech.

“Eigentlich seltsam, dass ich ausgerechnet mit Dir die Weihnachtszeit verbringe.”

sagt Selma.

“Hast Du eine Wahl?”, fragt Robby.

Selma lächelt wieder. Nein, das hatte sie nicht. Aber es machte ihr auch nichts aus. Denn eigentlich mochte sie Robby. Trotz allem. Sie hatte sich an ihn gewöhnt.

“… I gave you my heart …” sang Robby

“Ich muss gleich los”, sagte er dann.

Selma nickte.

Er öffnet die Tür und verlässt das Apartment.

Er grüßt noch einmal, als er an ihrem Terrassenfenster vorbeikommt.

Selma blickte ihm nach.

Für einen Pflegeroboter fuhr er ganz schön schnell.

Gelesen, gesehen, gehört.

Zurzeit bin ich ein wenig im Brontë-Fieber. “Der Professor” von Charlotte Brontë ist fast ausgelesen. Und der Film Emily wartet auf Abholung in der Stadtbibliothek.

Heute habe ich im Fediversum entdeckt, dass es bei Reclam den klassischen Adventskalender gibt.

Als Hörbuch mochte ich Windowshopping – eine weihnachtliche Versuchung von Tessa Bailey. Cool war, dass es von zwei Hörbuchsprechenden abwechselnd gesprochen wurde.

Bei Filmfriend gibt es einen filmischen Adventskalender. Ich bin schon ganz neugierig, was dort gezeigt wird. Morgen soll es losgehen!

Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

Will You Friend Ukraine?

Of Occident and open Lyne Days of prayers for you and her The copper jets and superclass Believe, befriend, and escalate- With you to port for better class And days to conscience claim There is a war for evidence To repair the spotlight rule Third set of stairs to win these laws A man at work is weeping In olive branch so far from here We will grow old in tandem And best remark from life proclaim The omen of this small nation- A ransom hut in North Korea For watch, for digital frame To dine alone on better days Earth is every scream- To the news to remit a life’s great past Fortune will forget In Texas state there was more war Against the right to be owned In fair perchance here is more at play But mired in the distance We want more from the past And as such we are smitten With the dew of our Holiest grass By more for a friend, Then surrendering thus- We walk here and notice this then More for our people Is not sacrifice But from putin + his wild west partner Six to the journey And thus no more deal We are victims of murder this year

The “wild west partner” is irving.

—Jeffery

I like the idea of Advent of Code/TS, but last year, I saw that this consumed a lot of my time. Yes, it was fun, but it did not push my side projects further.

So I got a “brilliant” idea. #AdventOfProgress – I like to combine both to take advantage of this time and make some progress. I would say this is an evolution of #TheMonthProject moved into December.

There is an app idea that has been living in my head for some time now, and I want to get it out with some tools I haven’t worked with in a long time. It is already more than 10 years ago since I started a small project with React Native. And with the rise of expo.dev, I see a good opportunity to try it out in December. The plan is to have an MVP (minimal viable product) by the end of December or, better yet, by Christmas. It should be possible in this span of time. But I also see my calendar and the entries there, with stuff that also needs to be done. Let’s see if I will manage this. :)

I hope I can post the progress daily.

---

58 of #100DaysToOffload
#log #TheMonthProject #AdventOfProgress
_Thoughts?

I wrote about how I use Claude Code in Wezterm in this Post.

Since then, I've improved it a bit. I introduced the yolo mode --dangerously-skip-permissions as default when I open CC and I need to split the window pane on my desktop monitor to 1/3 and on my laptop monitor to ½.

The split introduced a new function, which is called on keypress.

local function split_for_claude()
	local screen = wezterm.gui and wezterm.gui.screens().active.name or ""
	local percent = 50

	if screen == EXTERNAL_MONITOR then
		percent = 33
	end

	return act.SplitPane({
		direction = "Right",
		command = { args = { "bash", "-lc", "claude --dangerously-skip-permissions" } },
		size = { Percent = percent },
	})
end

EXTERNAL_MONITOR is the name of the external monitor. The name you will get from opening the Debug Overlay and calling wezterm.gui.screens().

And the key settings are:

config.keys = {
  -- ...
	{
		key = "Enter",
		mods = "LEADER",
		action = wezterm.action_callback(function(window, pane)
			window:perform_action(split_for_claude(), pane)
		end),
	},
  -- ...
}

Now I hit leader+enter and CC opens in a 1/3 or ½ split depending on the display. :)

---

57 of #100DaysToOffload
#log #wezterm #code #dev
_Thoughts?

Dans cette magnifique série d'Arte, Patrick Boucheron nous met en perspective la bataille d'Alésia, la Guerre des Gaules, Jules César, Vercingétorix et notre rapport au passé et à l'histoire. Brillant.

Le site de la bataille, situé à [Alise-Sainte-Reine](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alise-Sainte-Reine) (n'en déplaise à certains), est en Bourgogne, pas si loin de la Suisse, ni d'un autre site de bataille se rattachant lui à l'histoire suisse : [Bibracte](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibracte).

Si Vercingétorix appartient à l'histoire et à l'imaginaire de l'histoire de France, [Divico](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/fr/2022/06/divico-un-homme-au-secours-des-heros/) est son alter ego concernant l'histoire suisse et un peu moins son imaginaire.

De quoi envisager en 2026 un bon petit roadtrip mêlant moto et histoire…

Tags : #AuCafé #histoire

Stay entertained thanks to our Weekly Tracker giving you next week's Anticipated Movies & Shows, Most Watched & Returning Favorites, and Shows Changes & Popular Trailers.

Anticipated Movies

• Troll 2
• Oh. What. Fun.
• My Secret Santa
• ☆ Five Nights at Freddy's 2
• She's Making a List

Anticipated Shows

• Sean Combs: The Reckoning
• What's 'T' Got To Do With It?
• Ripple
• Next Level Baker
• The Abandons
• The Twelve Dates 'Til Christmas
• ☆ Spartacus: House of Ashur
• The Price of Confession
• The War Between the Land and the Sea

Returing Favorites

• Vanderpump Rules — Season 12
• ☆ The Jewel of Section E — Season 2
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills — Season 15

Trending Shows Status Changes

• Strange Tales Of Tang Dynasty — Returning Series → Ended
• Billy the Kid — Returning Series → Ended

Most Watched Movies this Week

• +5 The Family Plan 2
• -1 One Battle After Another
• new Bugonia
• -2 Frankenstein
• -1 Roofman
• new The Age of Disclosure
• -4 Playdate
• +1 Predator: Badlands
• -4 Good Fortune
• new Altered

Most Watched Shows this Week

• new Stranger Things
• -1 Pluribus
• -1 Tulsa King
• = Landman
• -2 IT: Welcome to Derry
• +3 South Park
• -2 Tracker
• -1 The Last Frontier
• -1 Mayor of Kingstown
• new The Simpsons

Popular Trailers

• what’s a holiday without a little drama? — The Housemaid
• Shhh. The soldiers are sleeping… — Sisu: Road to Revenge
• MISSION: 46 – Season 3 — SPY x FAMILY
• This Thanksgiving, don't fight with your family — fight for your family. — Greenland 2: Migration
• Acclaimed Audience Award — Hamnet
• Hop to it — Zootopia 2
• Official English Trailer — JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution -Shibuya Incident x The Culling Game Begins-
• Official Teaser — The Strangers: Chapter 3
• Official Trailer — How to Make a Killing
• How Far Would You Go — The Running Man

---

Hi, I'm Kevin 👋. I make apps and I love watching movies and TV shows. If you like what I'm doing, you can buy one of my apps, download and subscribe to Rippple for Trakt or just buy me a ko-fi ☕️.

---

I’m going to miss the P’s. It’s only been a few days but I feel a part of the family. I really hope I can see them again soon.

Saturday I spent sleeping on the blue sofa. I went out for some food, for the fitness dance, with the dogs, but always was pulled back to the sofa.

Today I’ll clean the apartment which I’d planned to do yesterday

It’s therapeutic they say. We will see about this.

I’ve made a playlist of great lyrics songs like Front 242 – quite unusual which is I think brilliant and of course always Fly on the windscreen

That is a powerful image they’ve made: the dead flies on the windscreen !! A more potent reminder to seize the day I have yet to see!!

And yet

Why did I spend all day yesterday on the sofa?

al despertar se dió cuenta de algo así como que en su cabeza había un poder colosal / los sueños eran suyos

Fossil angels – the Earth's memory of a shell. Though every atom of one's living being is replaced with stone, it retains form; one remains, a memory and impression.

Though physically extinct, on this act of reverence for something so utterly alien and foreign to our lifewave.

Maybe even pre-linguistic – something from before the incursion of the entity we call language.

Making Kin.

Technique

Memory, stone, formation, the persistent impression. I scry into this – a stone does not need to be lustrous or reflective to speak.

This becomes the psychopomp. I learn it's character, as it learns mine. It wakes up slowly, speaks slowly, and in many voices – the other materials and minerals in its formation, perhaps?

Echoes of the eddies in currents of time and tide, at least.

Theory

That which is is that which acts. Even the Qlippoth acts – my own method of making any sense of these is as casting moulds of creation, with fragments of the immanent material of the first, last and only event still clinging to it.

They are necessarily reversed – as a mould is a reverse of that which it casts. Calling this “Evil” is like calling your intestines evil for producing faeces. Those who do are just full of shit.

This is the memory of the formation, from the perspective of the methods implements.

Without leaning too heavily into the acid bath of modern primate sociopolitical warfare – you want to know what's happening, ask those who do the work, the factory floor, to to speak.

This is how we can do our own gemba walk, cheerfully cruising on the factory floor of creation.

Grounding concept

There is only one Event – following Whitehead, (in so far as I can follow Whitehead, he's hard work) time is a secondary phenomena, and one that holographically evolves.

The past ain't what it used to be – it gets updated as the Event interacts with Potential.

And together, they be one in Truth.

Have you ever stumbled upon a song that feels instantly familiar, like a warm embrace from an old friend you lost touch with long ago? As if it’s always been part of your life, and you can’t imagine a time before it?

Bravely by Beatboy carries that kind of magic.

The song has quite a history. It started as a piece of lost media from the early 2000s, where a user was searching for it from an old tape recording. I won’t dive into the full backstory here, but I will say this: thanks to the efforts of many devoted people, we’ve been gifted a gem that was nearly lost to time.

The warmth and comfort that radiate from Bravely wash over you like sunlight through a window. It has a soul-healing sound that adapts to any environment it plays in, gently insisting that you match its laid-back mood. Its simple catchy instruments and melody stay with you long after the song's last sounds have blessed your ears.

Listen to it below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUepLWUOSQI

#pop #synthpop

I feel like everyone recognizes this shoe. It’s iconic. For some people it reminds them of cutting the grass at 8 in the morning, or wearing waist high cargo shoes, tube socks, and sunglasses. But for the target demographic, these shoes remind them of comfort, reliability, and getting shit done.

As I’ve grown older, it feels like a there’s chemical in my head that changes my perception of these shoes from disgust, to acknowledgement, to curiosity, to an inevitability as I age. It feels like a naturally occurring phenomenon, similar to wrinkles and grey hair that science has yet to understand.

So, when I was needing a new work shoe, this shoe had such an allure to it. It looked like it would be money well spent. As long as I ignored the potential long term consequences this might have on me from a purchase.

So after a trip to the store and surrendering my cool card to the cashier, I am now the owner of the “get shit done” shoe.

— Preface —

Now, I’m not going to lie to you. So much of my knowledge has come from reading and learning about shoes before making this purchase. I’ve never taken shoes that seriously, so if you’re tired of reading from shoe experts, and just want the opinion of someone you’d see at the grocery store, I think you’re in the right place.

So, let me start by saying that there is not a shoe of this quality in this price bracket (at least from my search). There are definitely better shoes out there, but you won’t find better materials or build quality from another major shoe manufacture at this price point ($74.99).

The leather top actually makes a huge difference in what if feels like I'm paying for. I've owned other Adidas, Nikes and similar, and I've never felt like I'm getting my money's worth for how much I paid. I realize it's a pay-to-play world and $80 no longer buys a high quality shoe, but most shoes these days feel cheap and last as long as you'd expect them to.

— Feel —

Let me start by saying, these shoes are HEAVY. Not overly so, but there is a substantial difference in these and your typical running shoe. Even so, I almost find my self liking this aspect of the shoe. I feel like it's a light work boot, and as the “get shit done” kind of shoe, I found this to be an overall positive when wearing this shoe.

When I was looking at their sizings, I went for the wide variant of this shoe. It's one of the few shoes that seem to take this sizing seriously. There is plenty of room on the sides without losing the support and security of feeling like they will slip off. I used these for work where I'm on my feet for 4-8 hours a day and they aren't really to the level of Crocs, but they definitely get the job done.

My feet did hurt a little bit, but it wasn't from rubbing on the sides of the shoe, or from the back part rubbing behind my ankle. More just general standing feel, but quite great for the price of these things.

— Aesthetic —

Alright, so we move on to the aesthetics of these things. They're ugly. Even in the trends of ugly nineties shoes coming back. They are completely unshapely and demand the respect of the people around you with their dad aura.

Weirdly enough, I've gotten a lot of complements on these shoes, not only from dad's, but surprisingly the younger adults. I can't find it in me to agree with them, but there will be no complaints here when a compliment is sent my way.

— Conclusion —

So, let's picture you grabbing these shoes. You didn't have to spend almost $200 on them, so your bank account isn't going to be reeling from your purchase. The day is nice and you decide to get some lawn work you said you do a month ago. I've got to tell you that these shoes will have your back. You'll even unlock the classic “Dad” grass green stain on them. Maybe you have. All for the cost of your cool card. On the bright side, you might still receive random complements from other dad shoe lovers.

Okay, for a serious conclusion, I think you get a good amount of build quality for the price you're paying in today's money. Having actual leather on a shoe this price is virtually unheard of. They are comfortable enough to be standing on for hours at a time, and are durable enough to take outside and do yard work, or walking about. While I don't find any redeeming qualities in their aesthetics, I can't avoid the fact that they look well made like tanks.

If you're needing a work shoe, or pair that you don't mind getting dirty (that get shit done shoe) on a budget, I think these shoes will serve you greatly.