His shoes don't fit anymore

With the new school year upon us, it is time to get new uniforms ready for the boys. The navy pants and light blue oxfords make it easy for getting dressed in the morning.  There are no choices to be made about what to wear. No agonizing over whether your shirt or shoes will be cool enough for your friends. The only thing to worry about is long sleeve or short. I am grateful for this because the boys don't have to worry about fitting in with the crowd. When you are dressed alike, no one can stand out.

Once everything is on hangers in the closet, I can move on to the shoes. It seems these are the most important part of the outfit because this is the opportunity to show a bit of your own personal style while being in dress code. This year they boys chose black instead of brown. This is a huge deal to them because they have always have worn the spiced brown.

Now the fit has to be perfect. The shoes cannot be too loose or they will come off while running around at recess. You see, my boys prefer shoes they can just slip on with ease, tying loose shoelaces actually takes too much time. Those few seconds saved are precious when you are with friends on the playground.

I measured their feet and my goodness how much they have grown! Up a size and a half for each of the boys from last year. This is huge! I can remember their feet as babies. Their tiny toes were adorable. It makes me sad to think that this is another step towards adulthood, that someday these boys will be men. I know it is the natural process that every living thing goes through. But, as a mother, it is another inevitable sign that our children are on loan to us from God and that they eventually become members of society and will be on their own.

My boys and I compare our feet against each other just to laugh at how small their feet are. This year is different, my youngest sons toes almost reach to the top of mine. His flip flops are just a bit too small for me to wear. Next summer I am sure that we could share our shoes.

My oldest son and I have shared his summer shoes (without him knowing).
It makes me smile to see the tips of his toes hang just over the edge as his feet have grown just a bit more. As he tried on his school shoes I smiled to see how happy he was with the look of them. To know that it was his choice this year to what he wore on his feet.

With their shoes put back into the boxes until the first day of school the boys went outside to play yet another game of baseball.  All is happy in their world. Two more weeks of freedom, to them it seems that the start of school is a month away.

I was curious, I went to try on my older sons shoes, knowing that they would be perfect. I slipped my foot inside and wiggled my toes. I instantly got choked up and tears came to my eyes. There was so much room in there. I am sad and happy at the same time.

His shoes don't fit anymore.