In the box, we found the CUTEST pair of pink Mary Jane's with bows on the toes (yes, I know I'm a poet). #7 was SO excited about them and started carrying them around the house saying, "Shees. Shees," and then, "Hep me. Hep me." The shoes were strapped together, so she couldn't just sit down and put them on. She had to have help getting them apart first.
In the same closet where the larger clothes are stored, are the photo and genealogy books, so while I was in there, I thought I'd better get out the next items to scan. The entire time, I was followed around with "Shees....Hep me...."
She was very patient.
When I finally emerged from the closet, I sat on the couch and she climbed up into my lap. I undid the shoes and started to put one on her right foot. I had to try three times to get it on. I asked her if it hurt, and she said no. We finally got it on and buckled, but I felt terrible about that snug shoe on that tiny foot. I figured, as long as she wasn't complaining, I'd leave it and see how it went.
Got the left shoe ready and from the moment I put her toes in it, she started to grunt and moan. I knew this wasn't a good sign. DARN it! Those cute shoes that she was so excited about just weren't going to fit her. We'd waited too long. We didn't even know they existed until this morning. I had clearly put them in the wrong box when I had sorted through the clothes.
As I struggled with the little girl who was bound and determined to wear the too-tight shoes that she had anticipated for the ten minutes before, I got to thinking of the lesson being the pink Mary Janes....
Am I too eager to jump into things that don't fit me just because they are something I've anticipated or think would make me look good? Do I ask for my own trouble? Am I smart enough to put those things that would hurt me away and not "put them on again?" In short, do I do what's best for me?
Yes, darn, those were such cute shoes, and oh, how I would have loved to have seen her wear them, but they were not the best thing for her.
Thankfully, she's an easy-going child and had no problem with me taking them back off and putting them aside. I wish I had that kind of personality. For me, it seems, I have to wear the painful things (whether they be shoes or other kinds of things--choices, experiences, etc.) around for awhile before I decide that they're not for me. I have a stubborn streak a mile long.
Sometimes it seems like everyone else is wearing pink Mary Janes, but it isn't what you get. Sometimes you get to go barefoot, but you know, it just feels right, and that, is how you do your best work.
1 comments:
I love it! Thanks for this great post! I wish I had pink mary jane's!
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