The shoelaces in Jack’s shoes take a beating. Even though he got new sneaks in August, the aglets (thank you, Phineas and Ferb) had long since broken off and the ends were all tattered and splayed out like those fuzzy little heads we used to put on the eraser ends of our pencils.
We headed to Wal-Mart to buy him a new pair. He was thinking he wanted blue, but when we got there, they only had baby blue, which he thought was too girly looking. They had pretty much every other color there except navy blue, and they also had the curly ones that don’t need tying, which added yet another candidate to his ballot.
Eventually he saw a pair with flames on them and he got really stumped. He thought they might make him run faster, so they not only looked cool, but served an actual purpose (besides the obvious shoe-tying purpose).
We stood there for 20 minutes while Jack went back and forth, making his final choice but then changing his mind, weighing his options, doing eenie-meenie-minie-mo, holding each pair up to his sneakers to see how they looked, and slowly, but surely, eating away at my patience. I really do try, at times like these, to appreciate that these are big decisions when you’re seven. It takes me a long time to choose a purse, or a scarf, or even a new kind of tea, so why shouldn’t I give him the chance to arrive at his own happy conclusion? But I was getting annoyed.
Finally I suggested holding two pair together and choosing the best of those two, then holding the winner up with another pair and choosing the best of those two, and so on, until we finally got our winner, which was the red pair of curly laces. We bought them, took them home, put them on his sneakers and…
He hated them. He cried. He didn’t know that they would stay so curly and would stick out so much. He wished he would have gone with the orange pair and felt such remorse that he hadn’t gone with his gut but was instead swayed by the glittery promise of not needing to tie his shoes ever again. I said we would go back to Wal-Mart and he could buy the orange pair (this time with his own money), and we did, and he loved them.
That was back in December, and I’m sad to say, here’s what they look like now:
Which means <sigh> that another trip to Wal-Mart for replacement laces is on the horizon. Dear Lord, give me strength and patience and please whisper in the Wal-Mart Shoe Buyer’s ear to order in some laces in navy, pronto. Amen.
6 comments:
Ha!!!!!! There is this amazing stuff they have invented that they put on shoes now called V-E-L-C-R-O, my friend! Kids learning how to tie shoes is overrated. I figure Jemma won't go to senior prom without knowing how to tie laces so all is well in our house with velcro!
Amen, Kathryn! I purposely did NOT teach Chase to tie his shoes, but the bugger learned on his own and begged for shoes with laces last month. It was a sad day.
I like your perspective, Beth. I spent an hour and a half in a rare moment of aloneness at Target yesterday, spending most of that time deciding on a shade of blue nailpolish. Which I will probably use exactly one time. He will see his laces every day for an entire month.
Keeping my fingers and laces crossed for Navy and patience!!!
Try looking at Factory Brand Shoes over at the outlets. I've gotten laces in there before.
Watching this kind of decision was as painful for me as it was for the kids {back when they were young}. What was I thinking? When I look back I can't believe I took it so seriously! The benefit of hindsight.
{with his own money . . . great call.}
You're a much more patient Mom than me. I would've barked an order to "hurry up and JUST PICK ONE!". Your children probably bless and praise your name, while mine mumble about me under their breath. Great, now I'm depressed!
Even at his young age he has good taste in laces! :)
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