Ka Chow

 

In my quest to be a more fun mom, I've slowly been letting go of my idea of cool and embrace the cool of a 3.5 year old.  Last year it started with Thomas the Train jammies, which snowballed into an extensive Thomas the Train wardrobe.  But Little Bug's elation each time he wears a train shirt makes it worth him not dressing in my version of cool.

There has been one hold out though...shoes.

I liked to think that I was simply unable to buy my kid the toddler-crack shoes because of his orthotics.  I have always had a very limited selection of shoes that could accommodate his leg and foot braces, and because of this Little Bug only owns one pair of shoes at a time.  I stick with a basic brown or blue or black to make sure it sort of matches with his whole wardrobe and can be dressed up a bit if needed. 

But on the heels of my realization that I unnecessarily power trip as a mom, I took the plunge and bought two pairs of cheaper shoes instead of one pair of more expensive shoes.  One pair was a basic brown....and the other pair was this tacky, gaudy pair of Lightning McQueen shoes that light up red in the heel when Little Bug walks.  I'll admit, as much as I dislike the look of them, I was absolutely stoked to get them home and show them to their new owner.

And, of course, it is a love affair between boy and shoe.  Even more than that, it's a conversation starter with his friends at school, which gives him the chance to be the cool kid for once.  And because of that, he'll always have a pair of fun tennis shoes from now on, no matter how obnoxious I privately find his selections.

To me, they are just shoes.  But to him, they are a constant source of joy and pride.  And I will happily give him that.