Now I get it!

One great phenomenon to me is kids and their light up shoes.  At school, a child will run up to me stomping their feet saying" look at my shoes" as they burst into flashes of light.  It is not uncommon to have a child on any given day at school sporting a pair of light up shoes. The more the child dances, jumps and runs, the more they sparkle.  And it appears the more the shoes sparkle, the more the child sparkles too.  

As a parent and a teacher, light up shoes do not always produce joy.  Children are easily distracted by the lights on their shoes.  Teachers can often be distracted by the lights on their shoes!  I remember Peter having a pair of light up shoes when we lived in Uganda. There were times at night that I could see flashes of light coming from the shoe shelf in the hallway and no little feet were in those shoes.  Earth quake tremors? other unknown explanations?  Whatever it was, shoes lighting up on their own in the hallway is just a little unnerving. So needless to say I have not been one to champion the inventor of the light up shoe.  It just seems so unnecessary and pointless.  That is until recently.

When Peter told me he was going to participate in track we went shoe shopping.  In order to maximize our dollar and take advantage of a store promotion we each got a pair of running shoes.  I knew that I would need a new pair soon so decide I might as well get a pair to put away for later.  We were shopping at the end of a long day, at the end of a long week and my feet were tired.  Therefore I bought the shoes that provided the most comfort and relief. They just happened to be neon yellow and green.  I put my lemon-lime Saucony running shoes in the closet and told myself that after my 10 K road race in March, I would get them out.  So the other day having completed the 10 K, I decided to take them for a spin. Okay so in-spite of being taught to look ahead as I run, I couldn't help but look down at my glowing kicks. It really is kind of fun to watch your feet sparkle underneath you. That's when I finally understood why kids like light up shoes.  So next time a child comes into class with his new sparkling kicks, I hope to roll my eyes less and rejoice with them more because now I get it!