Rites of Passage

She is only 9 but she already knows her own mind and the funny thing is that I know where she is coming from. It all has to do with shoes.

My daughter and I could not be more alike or more different, and one of the major differences is in shoes. She adores them. She craves them. She will look up shoe web sites online to look at shoes. When she was little she called dress up shoes "snappers" because of the sounds they made as she walked. Now she is taller and more interested in how she looks....this girl can pull together an outfit that would rival magazine photos! As all girls know, your outfit is only as smart and sexy as the shoes that go with it.....this kid knows.

The decision was made to be a pirate for Halloween. Yes, we now know there will be hundreds of thousands of pirates this year but who really cares. we are going to put together the ultimate pirate costume. We got the sword, the shirt, the sash, a scarf for her head, big silver hoop earrings, black eyeliner and nail polish......but what about the shoes? This costume truly just begs for some nice black boots. The discussion usually starts out with a comment about needing new boots because last years boots are already too small, then she moves on to how she could use her new boots for her costume and as an additional perk....she won't even wear them until Halloween. In all honesty, how could a mother not appreciate her sensitivity and understanding? HAH!!

Off to the mall with the boys in tow (getting into all sorts of trouble and fun along the way), we hit the shoe store. Why do they look so innocent and simple from the front window? Why can't they offer 3 kinds of shoes in many different sizes? Why can my 9 year old fit into a womens size 5 shoe????

They are black. They are suede. They go up to her knees. They have 3 inch heels. It was love at first sight. No other shoe existed in that store for her. I was toast.


She teeters, she wobbles, she nearly crashes to the ground but she giggles the whole time and delights in the different sounds they make on different types of flooring. The little girl inside me remembers what it was like to want to wear high heel shoes. I was always the tallest in my class and it never stopped me. My mother actually let me wear the coveted high heel clogs from her closet for a school play. Life was grand!

I'm not sure why my ideas about shoe shopping changed, but I have a theory that the bigger your feet get the less cute they look in shoes. In fact, not many shoe makers create strappy and sexy little shoes for the size 11 foot. They don't look good and they don't "snap". They clomp. EEEWWW.

I'm not sure why I have been blessed with a shoe-loving, leggy blonde daughter but each day brings it's own adventures and we never get bored!