Cheap Thrills

 Around our house it's hand-me-down central. If it doesn't grow on a tree, it sure as heck better show up in a bag on my porch or my kids are officially naked. There are families who have provided years worth of wardrobes to my kids, and I'll never be able to return the favor. Maybe they will let me come weed or dust or something (if you are reading this, and have ever given us your gently-used-kid-coverings, you should definitely take me up on this!).  And in my hand-me-down world, pickiness ain't an option.

My poor kids. If I ever buy them anything, its the practical, glitter-free, no-blinky-light kind, and not the run-out-and-show-your-friend, super cool stuff. Plus, I have a really bad attitude when it comes to Princess-this and Pirate-that.  If it is named after a cartoon, amusement-park or a short Italian video game star, forget it.

Well, Tessa and Ellie needed shoes, and as shoes rarely survive one childhood to make it into a second one, we went shoppin'.  Jonah-boy wanted to come.  I don't think he'd ever been shoe shopping before.  He was amazed as the girls took shoes that weren't theirs off the shelves and put them right on their feet.  And they weren't even getting into trouble for it!

He tested the waters with a pair of Spider-man shoes out of the Tessa-sized rack.  They slipped right on, but he was sad that the store seemed to only have jumbo sized shoes.  We introduced him to a rack in his own size, and his bliss was complete.  "I walk in these, Mama?" he would say, trying on Batman, then Captain America, and finally Jake the Pirate.  As much as I hate character merchandise, I was enjoying watching him being in the moment, the way a little kid can.  Besides, he didn't actually want them, he just wanted to walk in them, right?  Yeah, riiiiight.

Well, once he got them on, he fell in love.  "We take deez home, mama?" he asked.  They were on double clearance, and seeing as he was wearing slippers when we walked into the store, it seemed reasonable to get them, cartoon pirate and all.

He wanted to wear them out of the store.  He walked through the parking lot looking down at the blinking lights.  It reminded me of a little girl in the mid-seventies who walked face first into the jungle-gym on the playground while looking at the little green turtles on the toes of her hush-puppies.  

It's nice to be reminded of how cool it was to be little.  Not a bad deal for 9 bucks.

Jonah negotiating with Daddy.