Impratical things
When I was a kid, I loved patent-leather shoes. Their exteremely shiny sheen and the smart clacking noise they made when you walked were just up my alley. I believe it was my grandmother who indulged my love for these very fancy shoes; I remember having a black pair, which I wore with delight.
The only problem with patent leather shoes is that they scuff so easily. I would look down at my glossy shoes and an ugly white smear seemed to appear on them as if out of thin air.
I learned a lesson from those scarred dress shoes; sometimes what is pretty is not always practical.
But just because I learned this lesson does not mean that I follow it.
Today, I helped my neice pick out new fleece pajamas at a clothing store. Right beside the PJ's were a stand of fuzzy slippers that caught my neice's eye. She immediately declared she needed some new slippers. I reminded her she had slippers at home, which Mairen conceded to owning but she wanted a pair on the rack. The ones Mairen owns at home are the good-quality, sensible slippers that will last a long time. The ones on the rack were the showy, sparkly kind that will last about a week.
There was one particular pair that caught my neice's attention. They were an incredible shade of hot pink and were covered with a silky, fuzzy material. Rather than being true slippers, they were flip-flops with a giant rhinestone heart attached in the center. My neice tried them on and her foot pratically dissappeared into the thick cushioned sole.
She was beside herself with joy; she really, really wanted them.
I told her to put it on her birthday wish list but I knew even as I said the words that I would buy them for her. I know what it is to adore something that bright and shiny. Sure, those slippers will eventually split at the seams or become ragged but for those times when they are intact, it will be bliss.
The only problem with patent leather shoes is that they scuff so easily. I would look down at my glossy shoes and an ugly white smear seemed to appear on them as if out of thin air.
I learned a lesson from those scarred dress shoes; sometimes what is pretty is not always practical.
But just because I learned this lesson does not mean that I follow it.
Today, I helped my neice pick out new fleece pajamas at a clothing store. Right beside the PJ's were a stand of fuzzy slippers that caught my neice's eye. She immediately declared she needed some new slippers. I reminded her she had slippers at home, which Mairen conceded to owning but she wanted a pair on the rack. The ones Mairen owns at home are the good-quality, sensible slippers that will last a long time. The ones on the rack were the showy, sparkly kind that will last about a week.
There was one particular pair that caught my neice's attention. They were an incredible shade of hot pink and were covered with a silky, fuzzy material. Rather than being true slippers, they were flip-flops with a giant rhinestone heart attached in the center. My neice tried them on and her foot pratically dissappeared into the thick cushioned sole.
She was beside herself with joy; she really, really wanted them.
I told her to put it on her birthday wish list but I knew even as I said the words that I would buy them for her. I know what it is to adore something that bright and shiny. Sure, those slippers will eventually split at the seams or become ragged but for those times when they are intact, it will be bliss.
That's the reason we have aunts - to give us a few minutes or days (or possibly more) of intractable joy. To this day I smile when I think of how an aunt put the sparkle in my life. Go for it!!!
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