Can I Get the Flashy Shoes?

You know how it is before you have kids. MY kids will never misbehave in a restaurant. MY kids will never act up in school. MY kids will never wear grungy sweats and boots. And the all important....MY kids will never wear those tacky flashy-light shoes. MMM-hmmm. It's important to plan ahead when thinking about those key moments in life. Right.

So I take my 3 year old daughter, Maggie, and 1 year old son, Charlie, to Target the other day to look at cameras and perhaps buy a pair of shoes for each. First we have to hit the food court pitstop. Apple juice box for her, yogurt smoothie for him. Oh, sure, Starbucks mocha for me. Still a mommy in control. These kids won't be spoiled. The baby needs more calcium anyway. Yep.

Off we go in the cart. Yes, MY kids don't wander aimlessly. MY kids sit in the cart. Yep. I'm a model mommy. Funny how you can forget about the food bribes almost instantly, when the time comes to pat yourself on the back for something else.

Next up - the shoe section. We see those awful red glitter shoes, which we have a pair of at home, even though I never was going to buy them, and she wants another pair. No no. I'm in control. Tasteful shoes and clothes are the ideal. Steer AWAY from the dress-up shoe section. But then we see them.....the FLASHY light-up type of shoes. And oh my gosh, they've got butterflies on them as well. "Mama!!!" she delights in screaming. "Can I get the flashy shoes?" I'm a mom in control. "Hun, how about these plain white shoes over here. They'll match most of your outfits...?" Good one, Mom. Pull the old "white dishes go with everything in your kitchen" routine. That'll transfer to kids tennis shoes. Sure.

"Can I just HOOOLLLLLDDDD them?" she bellows. Another mom scooting by giggles at us. She doesn't have kids with her. Sure, she doesn't understand what I'm up against. I should be strong. "Well, sure you can HOLD them, but we're not getting them. You need a nice pair of leather shoes. See these here, they say, 'man made uppers.' That's not a very strong material." Yep. A 3 year old can certainly understand the strong material rationale.

But in the end....I found myself helping her try on multiple sizes of the flashy shoes to get the right pair. And soon we were off to the camera aisle with the pink butterfly flashy shoes on her feet complete with the little elastic still attached.

Why had I given in so easily? Part of me reasoned that since they were cheapy pleather material I wouldn't mind if they got dirty outside. Yep, she NEEDED a pair of play shoes. But really. Come on now. How many years can they even buy the flashy shoes? My 8 year old isn't interested in them and I'm not even sure they still have them at that age. And quite frankly, I'd love it if he wasn't so grown up these days. So I guess in the end, I see the joy these goofy little shoes bring to my daughter and maybe I'm trying to help her be young longer. I don't know. She brought them home and wore them around the house for the rest of the night. She turned out all of the lights in the hallway and marched up and down, craning her neck to see the lights. She even slept in them. OK, she's a bit extravagant, but that's another story.

So...I'm not the mom I set out to be, but I think I'm a better mom. I can look past my need to buy only tasteful shoes and can give her a bit of childhood once in awhile. It really is all about seeing her smile and giggle. I'll have to go back and get another pair for her play shoes, too. I don't want these to get dirty or wrecked. They're her good shoes, after all.