Run Jump Play. It’s a kid’s job. How well do they do that job? You can judge it by their shoes.
For example, we were all doing the morning rush this morning and had 10 minutes to get to school before the bell would ring. I told everyone (for the hundredth time) to get their shoes on. Suddenly there was a flood of “I don’t know where they are,” “Mine don’t fit,” and “Mine have holes in them.” What? Holes? As I gathered the shoes and examined them closer I was shocked to realize that Mary’s and Anne’s shoes were completely worn through the toes.
So this is why she’s been coming home with wet socks the last few days. Why didn’t I notice that big hole before? How did this happen so fast–I seriously only bought these shoes less than 2 months ago. Mary’s shoes were in the same, if not worse, condition.
Well, with only a few minutes until school, I raced upstairs to our trusty little closet called the “Stuff From Cousins Closet.”
This closet is awesome. Each box has something different–things like winter clothes, summer clothes, snow clothes, dresses…and of course, shoes.
We save them all and pass them down. It comes in so handy and saves money! Kids grow out of shoes fast, and if they’re not grown out of, they are worn out before you know it. This box is the place where shoes go if they have any life left in them after they are grown out of.
Happy day, we found a pair that fit Mary. Just added some new shoelaces, and voila, new shoes! Mary was totally excited over her “new” shoes. She especially loved the laces because they were “just like Anne’s.” She wanted to learn to tie them right then and there.
…and look who just found her precious cowgirl boots. Yes, Eliza has happy feet today too!
But oh, sadness. After searching the box we still couldn’t find any shoes Anne’s size. She had to run out the door with the ones she had on (the swiss cheese sneakers).
When I came back home again, I started to put all the “cousin shoes” back in the box. Suddenly this box of little old shoes brought back a flood of memories.
These little red shoes were worn one Halloween when Anne dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. They became the favorite of hers, and of both sisters, and were worn EVERYWHERE. I used to find red glitter on everything.
These darling little pink shoes were a birthday present one year for Mary. Mary is a shoe person. She would rather get shoes than toys anyday, and she loves the Mary Jane style, especially with sparkles. She used to call these her “sparkle shoes.” I’m surprised they survived and made it to the box!
These little Airwalk shoes are another favorite of mine. Once when Grandma T. was babysitting, she took the girls shoe shopping and each got to choose their own pair. Anne chose these. She wore them all the time, and since they said “airwalk” on them, she was convinced that they made her run faster. She called them her rocket shoes…and since that time every pair of sneaker-type shoes in our house are called rocket shoes. They are not sneakers or tennis shoes, they are called rocket shoes.
So anyway, back to the shoe problem. Mary and I decided we’d better give the old shoes away. There was a clothing drive at school this week to collect items for the people in Haiti. We gathered some things together and put them in a box. I don’t know if people there will want shoes with holes in them, but we put them in the box anyway. Maybe it could help someone just a little bit. At least Mary seemed excited that her shoes might go to some other little girl far away who really needed it.
I picked up some new shoes for Anne when I was out, and the second she was out of school, we delivered her shoes along with the other things, to the school.
No more holes.
I wonder how long these ones will last. If she’s doing her job well, it won’t be very long!
C’est la vie!