The Shoe Fairies Come To Town

It was a very busy weekend.  They always are when the shoe faries come to town, or should I say, Gigi and Papa Hoss.  It has become a bit of a tradition that when they come to town, Elliott’s ever growing feet get fitted with a new pair of shoes.  Of course, they are always purchased in a two for one deal, so he actually ends of with two new pair.  I tried to convince him this weekend that when he turned 16, the shoes would become cars.  He didn’t know exactly what I was talking about.  My dad did, but didn’t buy into my plan.

I think the shoe purchases are actually a part of Papa Hoss’s overall plan to minimize the programming effectiveness of Grandpa Almond.  He jokes that he has to come to town often enough to undo Grandpa’s influence.  Maybe he thinks that if Elliott runs around in a new pair of shoes he has purchased him, they will help ward off a bit of Grandpa Almond’s spoiling.  Whatever the case, Elliott would appear to be the real winner.

Papa Hoss did achieve a goal this weekend.  He has a running conversation with each of his grandchildren where he asks them “Who loves you”, to which they reply “Papa Hoss”, and then he follows with “What’s he love about you”, to which the grandchildren answer “Everything”.  This was the first weekend that Elliott could recite his parts in the play, and boy did it make Papa’s weekend.

On Saturday we went to Elliott’s daycare’s 40th birthday party.  They had a carnival type party going, with lots of games and food.  Elliott played many of the games and won a prize at each.  It doesn’t matter that everyone won a prize at every station, I was watching, and he was the grand prize winner at each station.  He sat the rings on the bottles quickest, threw the balls hardest, sank the most baskets and putts, and even snagged an extra sucker out of the sucker tree when the attendant had her back turned.  No other child discovered that opportunity and left with only a single sucker.  He was a bit leery of the clown, but he was a bit more accepting of him than he was of Blue at King’s Dominion earlier this summer.

With all the action of the party itself, you would think Elliott would have a hard time identifying his favorite part of the celebration.  Not the case.  Without hesitation, he will confirm he most enjoyed the bus ride to the party.  The school has a small parking lot so they utilized a church parking lot down the street and shuttled attendees over on the schools small white buses.  Elliott is quick to point out the buses each day when coming to and leaving school.  But when he was actually riding in one, he had this look of excitement and disbelief, like he thought the day would never come when he actually rode in one of the school buses. 

On Sunday we went to the corn maze.  I grew up on a farm but I must admit that although I may have heard of such an adventure, I never walked through man created paths in the middle of a perfectly good corn field.  In fact, most of the farmers I knew lamented the loss of a single ear of corn to any circumstance, so it is hard for me to fathom what possesses one to cut out entire rows of perfectly good crops to provide a place for people to get lost.  And on this day, a rare visit from Mr. Summer, rows that blocked the only breeze and turned the corn maze into a corn blaze.  I was most thankful that Mama is 8 months pregnant and was quite adamant only minutes into the walk that we quickly find our way back to civilization. 

Speaking of pregnant, less than 4 weeks now until Ian’s arrival.  I’m sure Katie feels like it is months away, but it is only 27 days.  If Elliott only new he has but a few days of existence left in a world that will disappear as he knows it forever.  There is no bailout plan to save him.  His big fat paychecks of attention are about to be divided with another household CEO.  I’m sure he’ll ask for the local government to intervene, but much to his dismay, she will be busy providing two hour feedings to the new kid in town.

I’m sure he’ll be fine, just as I am sure we will find many ways to remind him just how precious and special he truly is.  He will always be the first little miracle to enter our lives, which may not place him anywhere atop a hierarchy, but it sure reserves him a quiet little corner in our hearts.