Hello Kitty Rain Boots
My 20 month old daughter, Ellie loves shoes. She lives and breathes shoes. She wakes up in the morning saying "Shoes, shoes, shoes," over and over. "Shoes!" And over. One day last week, just out of pure curiosity, I counted how many times she said the word shoes. 100 times. So I do not exaggerate when I say that she perseverates on shoes.
My precious shoeaholic wants to put them on immediately when she awakes. Tonight she actually went to bed with her light metallic pink Mary Janes on her feet, sans socks, per her request. This tiny demand was even after her bath, mind you, and so we have that out of the way for tomorrow. Oh, wait. She will want to change into another pair that she comes across in the morning. So, disregard! For those wondering, I tried to sneak them off of her, when she was almost asleep. In her dimly lit room, she grabbed my wrist, and grunted her displeasure. And so I stopped. You win, Ellie, you win.
All shoes are up for grabs with this little fashionista. She will walk into my closet and try on some colorful high heels, shiny flats, or even old flip flops. She then attempts to parade through the house in her shoes of choice, readjusting the fit and alignment every few steps. Men's and boys' shoes are not off limits to her. She happily tries on her brother's crocs, which makes Henry lose his mind. Being three, he doesn't quite understand the concept of sharing yet. Much to my chagrin. After the ensuing fight has been broken up, over a measly pair of stinky (literally) shoes, she moves on to the next pair.
Often she will find a pair that she has grown out of, that I have been too lazy, I mean too focused on other things, to put them out of her reach. She then says, "Shoes, shoes!" while shoving them in my face, earnestly trying to have me put them on for her. Chubby feet and shoes that are too small, are not a match made in heaven. With her cries and my determination, her piggies finally nestle into their beds... For about 5 seconds, before they are kicked off, and the routine starts over again. Ugh.
Today a pair of pink Hello Kitty Rain boots made their debut at pre-school, about two sizes too big for her. Pick your battles, right?! Thrift shops are my achilles heel, thus she often has shoes that are a tee tiny bit too big. Or a lot, in this case. Hey, who can pass up on $6 rain boots in show room condition? Like the organized and prepared mother that I am (stop laughing!), I put an extra pair of fitting shoes in her bag. She had those on by the time I went to pick her up at noon.
Most kids these days are fascinated with something, whether it is trains, jewelry accessories, their lovie, Buzz Lightyear, or American Girl dolls. These age appropriate obsessions, we may find adorable, and infuriating at the same time. Just keep the dang shoes on already!!! I would be lying if I had not said that to some degree. Children and their keen interests may be driving us to our graves, but it also cultivates our patience, in a way we could have never imagined before having children.
Growing up in the church, I often heard the Bible verses in Romans about how suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope.
My precious shoeaholic wants to put them on immediately when she awakes. Tonight she actually went to bed with her light metallic pink Mary Janes on her feet, sans socks, per her request. This tiny demand was even after her bath, mind you, and so we have that out of the way for tomorrow. Oh, wait. She will want to change into another pair that she comes across in the morning. So, disregard! For those wondering, I tried to sneak them off of her, when she was almost asleep. In her dimly lit room, she grabbed my wrist, and grunted her displeasure. And so I stopped. You win, Ellie, you win.
All shoes are up for grabs with this little fashionista. She will walk into my closet and try on some colorful high heels, shiny flats, or even old flip flops. She then attempts to parade through the house in her shoes of choice, readjusting the fit and alignment every few steps. Men's and boys' shoes are not off limits to her. She happily tries on her brother's crocs, which makes Henry lose his mind. Being three, he doesn't quite understand the concept of sharing yet. Much to my chagrin. After the ensuing fight has been broken up, over a measly pair of stinky (literally) shoes, she moves on to the next pair.
Often she will find a pair that she has grown out of, that I have been too lazy, I mean too focused on other things, to put them out of her reach. She then says, "Shoes, shoes!" while shoving them in my face, earnestly trying to have me put them on for her. Chubby feet and shoes that are too small, are not a match made in heaven. With her cries and my determination, her piggies finally nestle into their beds... For about 5 seconds, before they are kicked off, and the routine starts over again. Ugh.
Today a pair of pink Hello Kitty Rain boots made their debut at pre-school, about two sizes too big for her. Pick your battles, right?! Thrift shops are my achilles heel, thus she often has shoes that are a tee tiny bit too big. Or a lot, in this case. Hey, who can pass up on $6 rain boots in show room condition? Like the organized and prepared mother that I am (stop laughing!), I put an extra pair of fitting shoes in her bag. She had those on by the time I went to pick her up at noon.
Most kids these days are fascinated with something, whether it is trains, jewelry accessories, their lovie, Buzz Lightyear, or American Girl dolls. These age appropriate obsessions, we may find adorable, and infuriating at the same time. Just keep the dang shoes on already!!! I would be lying if I had not said that to some degree. Children and their keen interests may be driving us to our graves, but it also cultivates our patience, in a way we could have never imagined before having children.
Growing up in the church, I often heard the Bible verses in Romans about how suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope.
I am not trying to say that parenting is all suffering. It is a pure joy many times a day, but it can also be a challenging time that grows and matures your character. God is transforming you into the person that He wants for you to be, even as you try not to lose your patience when your child is talking about something, over and over again! It's hard to see these moments as a moment of growth, I have no doubt. But it can be encouraging to look back at your day, and think that as you persevered, it produced character, and the character produced hope, that is in Christ.
The Message version of the passage helped me to see these verses in a new light. See if it doesn't open up your eyes a bit, to the patience that has been developed in you as a mother. For you have a lot more of it, than you realize!
Romans 5:3-5
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
...The next time you may lose your patience, for if it is a day ending in "y," I will be right there with you, be encouraged. All the other times that you DIDN'T lose your patience, God is developing your character. And God has heaps of grace to cover the time that you do lose it, and throw a small sparkly shoe across the room.
Ellie with one of her red dress up shoes. The left shoe will show up around here some time or another. ;)
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