New Kicks

Target made me feel like a terrible parent. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t Target’s fault. It's all on me. We went, list in hand, to Target over the weekend to pick up some of the essentials.Side note: have you heard of the cartwheel app? #savingsOther side note: we need to quit going to Target on Saturdays.Anyway, one of our list items was a new pair of crocs for Bubba. I had purchased knockoff crocs for him from Zulily at the beginning of summer. For somewhere around the price point of $3. We definitely figured out why they were knockoffs and $3 as I think they were incorrectly sized but worked for the short term. Eventually, it came time to get the kid some new shoes. As we came upon the large selection of kid shoes I noted that there were no croc or croc-type shoes to be seen, blast. So we went for the close-toed-sandal type. Bubba has sandals but refuses to wear them because he can see his toes… whatever. So we bravely offer the conveniently blue and orange colored sandals. Of course, they didn’t have any in a size 6. (He’s been in a 5.5 so far this summer, I thought it was time to size up.) Instead, I picked up another size to try. Cinderfella be darned, they fit! I checked the size… they. were. a. size. 7. Seven. He’s been wearing a 5.5/6 all summer! I’ve almost been subjecting my son to Imperial Chinese Foot Binding!  Ugh.“Do you like these ones buddy?”-“Yeah! I yike dem!”“You want to wear them now?”-“Yeah! I wear ‘em.”Of course you can wear them, your other shoes are essentially torture devices.Did he seem to care or notice that there was a difference in the shoes? Not one that he could verbalize. Did the new shoes look great? Yup. Win, Win, Guilt.Then, since I felt terrible and could only think about what he’s felt like in his sneakers, we offered to let him pick out new sneakers too. Now, I didn’t think I’d be that mom who bought “character shoes” because a) they’re more expensive b) they grow out of them quickly, clearly, and c) They don’t match anything.Well, I failed in all three categories there.He found Thomas the Tank shoes.“Wook, Mommy! Tommy!”So we found his size, tried them on, and surprise, surprise- they fit.Luckily for us, I think someone had returned them so Target had to discount them. By almost six bucks! That made them cheaper than the sandals. Score! In the cart they went.He wore the sandals for the rest of the day. I think he likes them.Ahh, but the story does not end there. The next morning, he woke up and came walking over with the Tommy-Shoes box. “Mommy, I put ‘em on!” Sure bud.Then I realize something I had overlooked at the store. Not only are they Thomas character shoes but they.light.up. Now we’ve done it. AND not only are they character shoes that light up, they light up in the front and the back.  We are never going to get to buy regular shoes again.Bubba quickly realized the new features and so ensued an hour of running laps around the kitchen, stopping every 10-12 steps to watch the lights flash and then shouting “Wookit, I wunnin!” Well, at least his future injuries will avoid his face when he runs into something because he’s always looking down. Second realization, we’ll be able to find him in the dark. Bonus. Kid loves his new kicks. It’s the little things.Be Great,M