Patent Leather Shoes

I was texting my mother yesterday (or was it the day before) about some shoes she had.   We both agreed that while heels certainly looked nice on ladies, we didn’t prefer them.   I have some heels, and I do think I look nice in them, but my feet grow sullen and angry for sometimes days after I wear them for an evening.

My mother said on a recent trip she had worn tennis shoes or patent leather flats the whole time.   Something about that phrase, “patent leather” brought me back to my childhood when I read it.  

My mother would take me to the StrideRite store in the shopping mall that’s now been torn down and replaced with a larger and yet more sprawling multi-purpose mall.   I’m not sure how often we’d go to the shoe store because time runs slower when you’re a child.   For me, what seemed like my entire childhood probably wasn’t that long because feet grow fairly quickly when you’re a child.

At StrideRite you could get a stamp every time you bought a pair of shoes.   There wasn’t a computer tracking system that logged your purchases, so they did it some manual way.   Actually, I say it was a punch or stamp card but I don’t really know.   I was too busy picking out the shoes I wanted next.  

The thing was, after you bought twelve pair of shoes, you got the thirteenth pair free.    Every time my mother and I would go, we’d count how many more pairs until we got that coveted free pair.  I didn’t pay for the shoes as a child, but it was somehow exciting to be getting a whole two shoes and walk out of the store, bag in hand, paying absolutely nothing at all.  

It was at that StrideRite store that I was introduced to PatentLeather I would guess.   I don’t remember it specifically, but I do remember patent leather shoes.   Those black, little girl dressy shoes that are still popular today.   I was quite the tomboy, but in my patent leather shoes, I thought I looked refined and mature.  

My daughter, however, has other thoughts about dressy shoes.   She’s had multiple pair, mostly handed down from her neighbor and friend, Madison.   But she won’t wear them.   Doesn’t like them.  Says they’re uncomfortable.   It’s why most of our family photos and holiday pictures have my daughter in something more like sneakers than shoes that match her outfit.

The Big Boy Update:   Okay, one day after getting laced shoes for the first time, my son can tie them all by himself.   He was old enough (and determined enough) I suppose.   He has always good with knots and physical things so I’m not overly surprised.   I didn’t think he’d get it in one lesson and a half-day later though.   When I picked him up early from school they called him up to the office.   He came right away, and I know he had to put on his shoes because Montessori classrooms wear inside shoes or slippers when they’re in the classroom.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter will launch into song, singing, “out country tis of the, sweet land of liberty…” lately.   I think, but I can’t get out of her, that she’s been singing the song with her class at school.   She’s not so sure what some of the words mean so I’ve been explaining.   I’ve been asking Alexa to play versions of the song, but my daughter only wants to sing it herself, without accompaniment.