The Red Shoes

I have to tell you the story of the red sparkley shoes. I can't even remember if I bought the shoes or if Pam bought these shoes. But when Madi was about 2 years old - she was obsessed w/ The Wizard of Oz. She watched this movie over and over and over again. And not only did she watch this movie, she had to dress up as Dorothy and we all had to play a part. I was the Scarecrow, Beau was the lion and Oscar was of course, Toto. When Mimi was here, she was the Lion and Beau was the Tin Man. We all had our parts to play. And she wouldn't answer to Madison. Only to Dorothy. Pam made her a Dorothy costume and one of us found these red sparkly shoes that looked a lot like the ones Dorothy wore on The Wizard of Oz. Madison hardly ever took them off. We wouldn't let her wear them to school because she was so clumsy - she would fall in them. They were hard soled and they had a heel. But you knew when she got home, she was going to get her movie and put on her costume.

Well - as things happen, she outgrew the shoes and the movie and moved on to other things like Disney Princesses and Hannah Montana. Then we had Emily. Oh, Emily. The willful child. The child that is so much like her father, it's scary. The most common denominator is their obsession with shoes. Not that Beau is a freak so much as he loves shoes. And not in a metro-sexual kind of way because he doesn't dress to impress, he just loves to buy shoes. And he doesn't mind when I do. I could come home w/ a $10 pair of shorts from Old Navy and he screams that I don't need any more shorts. But I could come home with a $150 pair of shoes and he would want to see them. Especially if they were sneakers. He is OBSESSED with tennis shoes. I'm not sure what it is.

But I digress. Emily - oh about a year or so ago, she found these red sparkley shoes but they were really too big on her. But she loved them. So - she would wear them and we would buy her other shoes to wear and she would be okay but would always go back to the red ones. Until about 3 months or so ago when she just decided that these were the only shoes for her. She wore those shoes to bed. She would have bathed in those shoes if we had let her. We bought all kinds of shoes to no avail. Nothing would make her happy like those red sparkley shoes. However, like most kids shoes, they started getting holes and losing the sparkles. But she still loved them. But we knew their time was limited. So - what do most parents do when an object of their child's desire is on it's last leg - they frantically look for a replacement. We were on a mission. By the way - We have about 6 pairs of shoes in her room right now that are in mint condition so if anyone needs a size 8 1/2 or 9 - let me know, I have some I could give you.

But this Sunday - we knew. We told her. These shoes are old and they need to go away. We went to the shoe store and Emily said - nope to all of them. So the lady started just bringing out what she had. In a size 9 1/2 - which is about a whole size bigger than what she wears, she had a red shiny strappy shoe. You should have seen Emily's face. She put those shoes on and walked all over the place. I could see the happiness in her face. So, I shoved the old shoes in my purse where she couldn't see them. The lady offered to throw them away and before I knew it, Beau had them in his hands and then in the trash can they went. I just stared at them with almost a tear in my eye. I couldn't stand to leave them in the trash can. It seemed like such an unfair thing to do to something that brought both of my children such happiness. I know it sounds cheesy and sentimental. But I think I loved those shoes almost as much as my kids did. It's hard to toss aside something like that - it's like tossing aside moments of their lives that were so special. Beau pulled me away from the shoes before I could snatch them back out of the garbage can. I thought we might have a meltdown on the way to the car (mine or Emily's??). Emily has been known to change her mind so I waited for the moment when realization would kick in. But she seemed okay with it. So, I guess I'm okay with it.

Well - here's to you, red sparkley shoes. You were very much a part of our lives. You helped Emily through losing her pacifiers and made her feel better when she wasn't feeling so good. I know it sounds pathetic but I think I will miss those more than she will.