A Lesson I Thought I Already Knew

I have three kids.  Two of them are teens.  If you account for the number of sandals, boots, gym shoes, dress shoes, 'regular' shoes, ice skates, roller blades, and aqua shoes I have bought in the last fifteen years for all of these kids I am *sure* I have purchased well over 1,000 pairs of children's shoes.  So what happened yesterday should have never happened...ever.

The youngest child, aka 'Brianiac', has been complaining that his shoes are too small.  Like I said, he's the youngest.  Long gone are the daily checks from mom to see if a child's shoes fit.  If they don't fit, it's up to them to tell me.  He's probably complained a little too long.  You see I hate taking children shoe shopping and this is why:

We will enter the store.  They will gaze with wide eyes at all the shoes on the wall.  They will automatically be drawn to the most uncomfortable or non-fitting pair in the store.  I will sigh.  I will tell them to try them on.  They will try the shoes on and convince me that the shoes are a perfect fit.  I will ask them to walk around in the store.  They do.  I see them limping slightly.  They tell me they just tripped a *little* bit and it's not the shoes, only their own clumsiness to blame.  I tell them to run in the shoe store.  They say, "What?"  I say, "Run."  They will run around the shoe store, smiling widely, talking about how these particular shoes make them run even faster then usual. I will roll my eyes and let out an enormous sigh... I try tripping the children by grabbing onto the backs of the shoes as they walk away from me.  The children have learned that trick and somehow manage to keep a pair of shoes on their feet that are four sizes too big.  Yes, I said four sizes.  I grudgingly buy the pair of shoes that look really cool, but I know don't fit.

Soon after, I am back at the shoe store, buying a pair of shoes that actually fit.  'Brianiac' now has a pair of shoes that actually fit him and a pair he should be able to wear in a couple years.  That's if I don't forget about the large pair stashed in the closet and miss out on the window of opportunity where these shoes will actually fit him.