Shoe Shopping

There are many things I hope to be able to provide for Sara over the years, not the least of which is my support for her education. As an educator, I see firsthand the benefits that come from parents playing an active role in their child's education. These parents attend open houses and conferences, band concerts and basketball games. I also see the painful void that exists for those kids who don't have the same support. And like it or not, when parents fail to show for even the little events, it can speak volumes to a teacher. So there was no way I was going to miss Sara's first Meet the Teacher Open House yesterday afternoon. While there, her teachers from last year took turns passing her around and smooching her, and her new teachers talked about how excited they are to have this group of kids in their room this year. Sara wouldn't have known the difference if we hadn't gone to her school yesterday, but I felt strongly that it was important for us to visit. You know, I always like to set a precedent. During our visit, I was reminded of how great her school is and how comfortable I am with the wonderful staff members who take care of Sara and her friends everyday. I'm feeling good about the start of Sara's new school year, and I'm very hopeful that -- come Monday morning -- the place and the people will still be at least a little familiar to her.

While I was talking to one of Sara's new teachers, she spotted Sara's bare feet and mentioned that the kids are required to wear shoes everyday this year (they are starting to walk, it's a safety issue, etc., etc.). Sara does own shoes, but to date she's only worn them a total of about four times. For one thing, Sara's feet are very fat, for lack of a better term. Sometimes we call them paws; I've just never seen the point in forcing shoes over them. The two pairs of adorable Mary Janes in Sara's closet won't fit her for a while yet, and with the exception of some summer sandals (the white flowered ones she's worn four times, mentioned above), all of her other shoes are for newborn feet. I knew we'd have to start shoe shopping soon since Sara is starting to stand with help and she'll be walking at some point, but her school's new rule expedited my shopping plans. I have to admit, there have been times when I've wondered whether I appear to others to be a little W.T. as I haul my barefoot child around town, but I've countered that thought by acknowledging that Sara's bare feet have simply been a nod to the little flower child buried deep inside her sweet soul. Sounds good, right? Regardless, no more barefoot baby here.

We headed to Target to do our shoe shopping, and while I could feel the excitement rising in my chest as we neared the shoe section, I didn't succumb to the desire to roam the women's shoes looking for a bargain. We went to Target for Sara shoes, and we left with Sara shoes. Have you ever gone to Target for something in particular and actually left the store with just the item you originally intended to buy? It's close to impossible to do. Today, though, I did it!


Here's Sara on her first real cart ride. We usually leave her in her carrier, but today we decided she was ready for the cart. She loved it! On the carrier note, she is SO sick of that thing (and so am I). We did scope out the next level of car seats, but didn't make a purchase. Sara is almost too big for her carrier seat, but it's hard to know what to buy next. We want to get something that will last -- most of the ones we were looking at are good up to 40 pounds -- but we have no frame of reference when it comes to 40-pound children. I finally texted a friend and learned that her 4-year-old is not yet 40 pounds, which leads me to believe that the seats we were eye-balling today would last us for a good long while. I just have to take a moment on this tangent: are we the only ones who stand in the car seat aisle totally perplexed by the full-blown car seats (not even the boosters) made for kids up to 100 pounds? If we'd been made to use those, I would've ridden in one through most of high school. In fact, I have friends who would still be riding in one. Somehow we all survived cars without airbags, some without seat belts, and even without baby seats ... yet someone out there thinks 100-pound children need to sit in these monstrous child safety seats. I'm all for safety, but I have to think it's gone a little far.

Check out Sara's new shoes, purchased thanks to the stimulus package we received from Great-Grandma Lou. Since she has sandals, we decided on some closed-toe tennis shoes in a slightly bigger size that will hopefully last through the fall.