Did You Know Shoes Were That Important?

Last Saturday I took Eli and Lucas shoe shopping...by myself.  Their feet are the latest body item to explode into a growth spurt.  I know from shopping for baseball shoes that they have now entered the world of men's shoes.   Big time for them, expensive for mom and dad.

I had to laugh as we were entering the store, Lucas says "Hey mom those are shoes like we wore in the Philippines."  Eli's comment, "I'm NOT getting those!"  We made it in the store after promising that no we were shopping for tennis shoes. 

Who knew that two boys from the Philippines, who only wore shoes when absolutely necessary and took the first entire winter they were home that, yes they did need to wear shoes in December in Iowa, would become such label conscious and status aware of their footwear.  Let me tell you in 10 seconds they had spotted Nike, Reebok and Adidas.

After a quick lesson that all brands were not the same size no matter what the number said, they had picked out their shoes and were trying them on.  I was slightly suspicious when Eli said he had the right size on the first try.  I walked over to see a 2 inch gap between his heel and the shoe back.  I said, "Eli, you need a smaller size that doesn't fit at all."  Oops big mistake, he looked like I had just set the shoe on fire.

Needless to say, we purchased shoes and everyone was happy.  I asked him later what he was thinking when I told him the first pair were too big.  He said, "Mom.  When we used to get shoes (in Philippines) there wasn't always enough.  If they didn't squeeze my toes I kept them cause there weren't any others and if I complained I didn't get anything."  That noise you heard was my heart cracking.  I said, "Eli, you understand that you will be able to have shoes that fit here, right?"  What do I get for his response, "Yep I know but sometimes I get that funny feeling that there won't be enough.  I know it's different but it still feels funny sometimes."  Again the kid has the ability to absolutely break my heart with his struggles that we probably don't always pick up on.