After my son graduated from superhero sneakers that lit up, which I could buy for $10 to $15, I passed the shoe buying task to my son’s father. I just couldn't see paying fifty bucks for a pair of sneakers that he’d wear for maybe a year.
Well, when I picked my son up from football practice, he advised me that he needed a new pair of sneakers for P.E. My first response was, “You’re crazy in your head. You’d better take a rag and soap and clean up a pair in your closet.”
“I can’t. They’re all small.”
“You’ve got like five pairs of shoes in your closet. What do you mean they’re all small?”
With the apple not falling far from the tree, my eleven year old replied, “Do I need to draw you a picture?”
Now, if I said something like that to my mom when I was a kid, I’d be picking up teeth off the floor, but I let the comment slide because I was still trying to wrap my head around the facts.
My son walks around in his socks in the morning, and he leaves shortly after me, so I never see what shoes he’s wearing, and when I pick him up after work, he’s wearing cleats.
“So the shoes you wear for PE are the same shoes that you wear to school?”
“Yes, and they’re really getting raggedy now. Sooner or later people are going to start asking me why I only have one pair of shoes.”
“And you tell them to mind their damn business,” I said, thinking about how kids were back in the day. These new and improved versions were down right ruthless
“Can I quote you?” he asked sarcastically.
“No. Why didn’t you tell me you needed shoes?”
“I’m telling you now.”
I was tired as a dog, and wanted to go home, have a glass of wine and watch some TV, but I headed to the mall.
So I wasn’t sticker shocked, when I walked into the store, I mentally prepared myself to have to pay up to $60.00 including tax.
When we walked into the shoe department at Dicks, I thought, cool, there are plenty of shoes in the $40.00 range. My son picks up a pair of black and white Nike’s for $48.00. I then see him eyeing a pair of Addidas AdiZero Ghosts for $59.00. It’s more than I wanted to pay, but I was willing to spend a little extra to make my son happy. We’d just have to go to Blockbuster Express instead of Multiplex this weekend. Besides, he’s a good kid, and he does what he’s supposed to do… for the most part. So, I ask the salesperson if she can help me find the shoes, and she asked me for his size.
“Size nine.”
She looked down. “Wow, he has some big feet.”
My son smiled and I knew why. This girl in his sixth grade class told him that boys who have big feet have "big dicks". (Lord!)
“You need to look at shoes in the men’s section,” she said and steered me in the right direction.
The only pair of shoes they had for less than $80 was Bo-bos (ugly shoes that you begged your momma not to buy). The exact pair of Nikes that my son wanted in the kids section was forty dollars more in the adult section. They didn’t have the Addidas in his size but they were $70.00. I mean, seriously, how much leather are they using to justify that price? I was having an internal fit.
“We’ll have to shop around the mall,” I said.
We went to Footlocker, Champs and Finish Line. Every nice pair of shoes came with an eighty dollar price tag.
We went back to Dicks, and I asked if they’d have a Halloween sale and the salesperson said, “Uh, no.”
Feeling completely deflated, I said to my son, “I may just have to take you to Walmart and get some Bo-bos that I can afford and have your dad take you this weekend to get some shoes.”
My son looked visibly disappointed. I was thinking, getting a pair of Bo-bos is better than nothing. Besides, wearing the same pair of shoes isn’t the end of the world. Lots of people don’t have any shoes. But it didn’t make me feel any better.
When we got in the car, I said, “Let’s drive over to Sports Authority since we’re out anyway.”
My son’s chocolate face lit up. “Sure!” he said.
We went into the store. Sports Authority had the Addidas in my son’s size. The price was the same as Dicks - $70.00
“Can we get them mommy? Please!”
Try as I might, I just couldn’t justify spending that much money on shoes. Shit – I didn’t wear seventy dollar shoes and I have a job.
“I’m sorry baby, but I can’t afford it.”
My son took off the shoes and put them back in the box, turned to me and said, “It’s ok mommy. I can wear the Bo-bos. Let’s go to Walmart.”
This little old woman was checking out some sneakers and must have overheard our conversation because she walked over to me and said, “If those shoes were in the fifty dollar range, would you be able to buy them?”
I nodded, and she reached in her purse and pulled out a coupon. “I have two but I can only use one. It’s for 25% off. Go buy that baby his shoes.”
That kindness from this complete stranger really touched my heart. She made my day and my son’s day too. My son was able to get the shoes that he wanted, and I was able to buy them.
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