So Many Feets

Today we knew it was going to be 75 degrees or warmer so sis and I were all ready to get the kids in their summer clothes and sit outside basking in the warmth we've been craving all winter. She called early and told me that Gabs was already wearing her tank top and flip-flops. I had sort of a panic attack knowing that Niklaus was short-less (he grew too much over the winter, the little stinker) and that the kids shoes were taking over the world, one corner of my house at a time. So, it was time for the BIG SORT. I also had to get the glove/scarf/hat box sorted and put away for the notwinter so we worked on that first. Then, I grabbed the 43 coats and snowpants that were crowding the entryway on two, big, hook racks and sorted them and hung them up in a back closet. Now, the entryway was crowded with:

a. glove/scarf/hat box
b. a bajillion coats/snowpants/jackets/bags and purses
c. dead grass that trails in on every ones feet before they take their shoes off and leave them in the path of the next person coming in the front door.
d. shoes and boots in an extra basket I keep in the entry for the overflow
e. extra toys and stupid stuff that ends in all of the baskets even though they don't belong there
f. a small bench for sitting on and taking off the dirty, filthy, stinkin',space-taker-uppers called "shoes"

I know this is all very boring to read so I have provided you with pictures:
This first one is the "shoe mountain" created by having the kids find every shoe in the house (that isn't hiding) and piling them all up so as to sort which ones go in the garbage (like my old tennies which only last a couple of months with all the running I do and the tennies Niklaus wore out putting miles and miles on his little trike before he knew how to work the pedals), which ones go to charity, and which ones end up in old milk crates in the back closet sorted by owner. Well, with one more set of feet in the house, we have exceeded our space for shoe storage (i.e. our closet is too fricken small) so now I actually have to STACK two of the milk crates to get them all to fit in there.

*If you click on this picture to see a larger image, you can play "I Spy" with your kids..."On Laura's shoe mountain I spy a baseball slipper, a bear, a pump, a blue toy, a little pink slip on and a boot for a boy."



Shoe Math (math theory by Laura N.)
"The number of shoes in any given household is not an indicator of how many persons are in said households as evidenced by the theory that a household which holds more than 5 persons runs out of room for more than 7 pairs of shoes per person whereas a household of less than 5 persons might decide that they need more than 7 pairs of shoes per person because there is actually one, small, smidgen of space in the back of the closet for another pair of shoes. Thusly, we cannot assume to know the number of persons in any given household using shoe math, alone. However, we can assume that the mother of said household swears like a long shore man every spring when realizing just how many dang shoes have accumulated over any given winter and just how many fricken pairs of shoes do you need when you've only got two feet each??????"

I shouldn't have gotten so frustrated. My children can all walk. They can mostly all put their own shoes on their own feet. They have healthy feet to walk on and they are not slaves to fashion or demand the latest styles. I have much to be grateful for, don't I? I shouldn't look at the humongous pile of shoes with frustration every year and instead should look at it with joy and pride for all the blessings that I have. That's it! I should look to each shoe as sort of a blessing and a prayer. With every shoe that I sort, I should say a short prayer for my kid's feet and all the fun we will have on walks, trips to the beach, bike rides, ball games, sledding in boots that keep our feet warm in my nemesis; the winter. All year long that (ridiculous) pile of shoes has kept us warm, and protected and I have no right to complain. So I won't anymore. Instead I'll entertain you with pictures of Weazy climbing the "shoe mountain"...