A Mommy Story

Some days I wonder if my child is just not normal. I mean, she’s fine developmentally, but physically, nothing seems to fit her right.

Today we ventured out to buy some shoes for Cordy. I received an e-mail advertising buy one get one half off at Stride Rite, so I figured it was time to purchase some sandals pre-season.

I was expecting that we wouldn’t be the only customers in the store. I wasn’t ready for the apparent pre-school session going on in Stride Rite. The place was packed, so we signed in, noticing we were about 6 names down the list. Cordy took off to join the other kids playing with the toys. Aaron kept an eye on her, while I browsed the shoes.

Of course, I had picked out shoes to try on within about 5 minutes, but it would be another 20 before the sales associates called our name. Meanwhile, Cordy was doing her best to pick up as many germs as possible as she touched everything in the store and then put her hands in her mouth.

Out of the 4 pairs I picked out, we bought a single pair of shoes. They were sold out of one pair, another had no chance of fitting her, and the third was a little too narrow for her feet. There were no other styles we liked that were available in extra wide.

Now, I realize my daughter has chubby feet. They are wide, and they have a little fat pad on the top. I’ve seen other baby feet – her feet do not look all that different. So why in the hell can we not find shoes to fit her? Do baby shoe manufacturers use actual babies to fit their shoes?

Stride Rite is the only shoe store that sells extra wide shoes, but they only have about two styles in that width. Which means my daughter is stuck with ugly shoes. And of those two styles, one is guaranteed to be too tight in the height of the shoe, so that the little fat pad on top of her foot is bulging out like a toddler version of cankles.

Another thing about ugly shoes: Stride Rite, why must all of your toddler girls shoes come only in white, pink, or white & pink? Purple is a perfectly normal color for a girl to wear, and green and red are acceptable as well. Those of us who enjoy all colors of the spectrum really resent being forced to put our daughters in pink shoes. A little variety, please?

I think I’m nearly ready to give up on shoes for Cordelia and just wrap her feet in rabbit skins and thin leather straps. At least rabbit skins don’t come in pink.