Day 76 New Shoes for School

My plan of doing my school clothes shopping in South Carolina where the crowds would be diffused by now has completely backfired on me. I wasn't able to get the shopping done because other things came up with family and I wouldn't change that for the world. After all, those family events are what brought me so many smiles during my vacation. That being said, shopping on Labor Day which also happens to be the day before school, gets a bit crazy.

I knew what was needed, I had a plan, I got it done. Until I realized that I forgot about my daughter's shoes. She went through some major growth spurts this summer and the shoes that fit just two months ago currently have her toes hanging ten. The dilemma began. 

There isn't a cute pair of size 11 or 12 not-so athletic sneakers within 40 miles of me. I'm pretty sure of that fact as I have called or visited every store outside of the already depleted mall at which I started (the first mall, that is... second mall came later). This task began around 1:00 this afternoon and continued on until I arrived home at 9:15. I finally found a few pairs at that second mall, but by then my daughter was back home getting ready for her first day of first grade. So what do you do when you need to buy shoes for a kid who can't try them on? You buy any and all pairs you remotely find a possible match in her size range, purchasing them in multiple sizes as well, and then hope with all the energy that is somehow lingering in your body that at least one pair fits.

While heading home, after a comfortably warm 80+ degree day, I was informed that the temperature would be dropping tomorrow to a cool 64 degrees. What the... That's not going to work with the pretty little short sleeve dress for my daughter or the shorts and t-shirt for my son! Now what?! Thankfully, my son was set as I bought him new jeans (yep, he outgrow all of those as well this summer). My daughter's jeans would need a belt and her new shirt would need a sweater. I was  so beat and I was ready for my own little meltdown. I did stop by another store, picked up a sweater, but no belt was to be seen. I reassessed the situation, again, and changed the plan back to the dress, a different sweater, and some white leggings. Hopefully, it will come together. 

Now, how does this play into my daily smiles? I'm exhausted! I've been all over hill and dale and barely made it home in time to kiss my kids goodnight. I still had preparations to accomplish at home as well and this blog to continue. What brought me through this Labor Day shopping disaster of a day? At one point in the day, my daughter, who always whines and complains when shopping, looked up to me and said "I'm not tired today at all! I'm excited! I'm excited for my first day of school tomorrow!" And for the first time in I can't remember how long, she hadn't complained about being tired or ready to go home. She really was excited! She was also nervous, but looking forward to this day with a big smile on her face. She skipped along through the mall all afternoon. God love her! So her smile and excitement got me through my day. I may not have smiled the whole day, but I knew how much she was smiling. That's all I needed.