Feet and Shoes

Did your mother keep your first pair of shoes all her life? Many did and still do. Baby shoes are cute and remind us how tiny our kids once were.

As they grow older, children's feet grow amazingly fast, and new shoes are often a necessity. We may choose them for practical reasons or to look nice for special events. As kids grow older, they may need certain kinds of shoes to go with uniforms or as status symbols, and things like dancing lessons and sports require certain kinds of shoes.

Unlike other clothes, hand-me-down shoes from older kids aren't a good idea unless they weren't worn much because each person's feet are unique and the shoes would have changed to fit the child who previously had them. Parents must spend a lot of money on shoes, but it's important to do it because shoes that don't fit well can be painful.

Before babies are born they grow from the top down, but children grow from the bottom up. We noticed ours would first outgrow their shoes, then pants would get too short. Next their shirts and jackets would become too small and, finally, we'd have to replace glasses and hearing aid earmolds because those no longer fit. Then the child's shoes would get too small and we'd know the cycle was beginning all over again.

I've heard that old shoes hung on a power line indicate a location for drug deals, but I choose to see them in a positive light and let them remind me of the many shoes my children wore over the years and the cute little feet they once had.