
I had a bee in my bonnet that Child #1 needed new sneakers. We went to our favorite Hawthorne district shoe store where, to everyone's dismay, we learned her favorite sneaker maker had gone out of business. Child #1 loudly bemoaned this fact while Child #2 began to writhe underneath tables and knock over boxes of shoes.
I glanced at the well-behaved toddlers playing in the front of the store and then back at my own children and came to a decision. Child #1 wasn't going to get new shoes. The children were hustled back into the car where they proceeded to ennumerate all the ways they hadn't done anything wrong. I modeled mature adult problem-solving skills by refusing to speak to them.
My speechlessness and mature behavior lasted through our trip to the library. I checked out books and pretended the two children begging me to speak were not, in fact, my own. After the library I took pity on them and we went to the park.

On the way home I remembered a shoe store in the neighborhood. On a hunch, I made the nine block detour and was rewarded by a sale sign in the window. Inside were the perfect boots, on sale and my size. Child #1 took charge. "Do you like these boots, mom?" she asked pushing her little fingers into the toe to judge whether I had room to grow.
"I love them."
"I think I'm going to buy them for you."
"Do you have any money?" I asked her.
"Yes," she pulled a quarter out of her pocket.
"You'll have better luck with this," I said and handed her my credit card.
It was at that moment I realized we'd come full circle. Mother, daughter, daughter, mother, sometimes there's very little difference. And of course, I wore my new boots out of the store. Because that's what you do when you're nine...or forty.
10 comments:
When my middle child was about two, I took him to an adult shoe store with me. While I tried on shoes, he very quietly and systematically rearranged the shoes in the boxes. Eeek.
Some mature role reversal there. And Tonja's comment is funny!
I love that a day that started not too well ended on a high - park for them, new boots for you :-)
*Those boots were made for walkin' and walkin' is what they'll do.*
Loved this, Johanna! When my kids get the silent treatment, it is short-lived. They know there's steam in them ears, just achin' to get out.
Have I mentioned that I took a trip with my sister-cousin to Portland two years ago? We had a blast! It was her treat, to help me research my novel. BEST TRIP EVER.
All the good ones seem to come out of Oregon. I have another blogger friend that lives near by. You should check out her blog... *inside-outunderpants* @ sarahcallender.wordpress.com
I think you'd love her! I do.
@Tonya.. LOL
Tonja, LOLOLOL!
Alex, role reversal is good. Just look at all the movies based on trading places.
Sarah, me too!
Thanks Scarlett, Portland is such a writer's city!! Glad it helped inspire your novel.
How sweet that she picked out boots for you! (And that they were tasteful boots, too!)
I love that she checked your boots to make sure they fit. And offering to buy you a pair? How cute!
You made my heart smile! What a sweet munchkin!
Glad the day ended on a high note.
And hurrah for old-fashioned playground equipment. I still remember the swings and merry-go-round at the park where I played as a kid. In those days, the ground underneath was concrete, not sand or bark chippings!
Awwww...your a great mommy. and I love those boots.
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