giggle shoes

I started this post on Friday Oct 2 but finished it today, Monday Oct 5 so if it seems as though I went from present tense to past tense, it is only because I did! ;-)

This morning, shortly before the sunlight could flood my room and wake me up pleasantly, my mind came to conscienceness to the sounds of some country sound on the radio alarm. As I took mental inventory I realized this, last night Josh did not once try to get into my bed! Wow, a night not interrupted sometime between 1 and 4 by a two yr old who wants my bed instead of his own! My mental inventory continued and brought this to my awareness, my oldest is 7 today. Wow, where did the time go? I got up and started slicing "chocolate bread" (they don't have to know that it is zucchini bread and has no sugar bc I used agave, they think it is a really special treat to have chocolate for breakfast). As I start barking orders of get your school clothes on, change your underware, don't forget to brush your teeth, etc, etc, I walk past my closet and see the tip of one of my giggle shoes poking out and I pause just long enough to look longingly at them and then continue with my morning.

I guess at this point might be a good time to explain why this particular pair of shoes has been dubbed the giggle shoes. Valentines evening this year my husband and I splurged. We had an overnight babysitter, a hotel, and a fancy dinner. I had a beautiful red dress and was secretly lamenting having to wear black shoes with it. My hubby and I were in DSW looking to get him a new pair of dress shoes (it's only been about 10 yrs since he bought a pair!) and I looked longingly at a gorgeous pair of patent red high heels with a peek-a-boo toe. Hubby sees the longing and tells me to get them. Of course I argued, I didn't need to spend that much money on a pair of shoes just to go with one dress. "Do you like them?" he asks. "Of course, I love them, but I don't need them!" He finally gave me no choice in the matter and insisted that I must have them because every woman should have one pair of giggle shoes in her closet. I looked at him with one eyebrow raised and quizzically asked as I'm sure most of you are now, "giggle shoes?" He went on to define giggle shoes as the one pair of shoes that every time you see them it brings a smile to your face and you giggle when you put them on. It's the pair of shoes that makes you feel like a million dollars. Needless to say, there is now a gorgeous pair of patent red high heels with a peek-a-boo toe in my closet! :)

But I digress, now back to the story. So I took my son to school and came home to get ready for MOPS. I walked past my giggle shoes probably 5 times before I asked out loud to absolutely no one, "Is it tacky to wear red heels with blue jeans and hair that hasn't been washed in at least 2, probably 3 days?" I decided that even if it was tacky, I was going to do it simply because they make me happy. I figured I'd walk into MOPS and get several weird looks but it didn't matter because I knew I was walking into MOPS knowing that my husband and my heavenly Father love me more than I can fathom. I decided it was ok even if it was weird because I was walking into MOPS being hugged and touched by an incredible, undeniable, unfathomable, and undeserved love. And you wanna know the funny part? I walked into MOPS to hear so many compliments on my gorgeous shoes. For those of you who are not moms or don't remember what it was like when the kids are still little and there is precious little to call your own, you won't fully understand this statement. But for those of you who are right there in the thick of it with me, I learned this: red high heels do indeed go with blue jeans and hair that hasn't been washed in ? days and that I felt probably the most beautiful I've ever felt wearing them. No one cared that my hair was in need of washing, no one cared that I wasn't in a beautiful gown. Oddly, the experience filled me with hope and encouragement. The people around me who love me don't see the greasy hair and exhausted mommy, they see Cinderella in beautiful shoes. I also realized that I don't see those things in others either. I don't see the faults, I see the beauty in these amazing ladies who are just doing their best to be everything God has called them to be and to be great mommies! Isn't it funny how a simple pair of shoes left me feeling beautiful, refreshed and loved for the rest of the day??????