Be Unique

My oldest kid wears his shoes all day long. I mean ALL DAY LONG. As soon as he gets out of the shower at night, he puts on fresh socks and his shoes, even if bed time is only 10 minutes away. Only after he lays down, do the shoes go flying to the floor.

It drives me insane! Home is for relaxing, and how in the world can anyone relax with their shoes on? Fresh feet after after a nice, hot shower, and you want to taint them with shoes? My brain can't understand it. 

But a little girl approached me at school today and put everything in perspective. I have no idea if she wears shoes or not when she's home, but I do know her dad won't be there after school. She shared with me that the police came to his job and took him to jail again. I'm pretty sure at the age of six I had no idea what a jail was, and I definitely didn't worry about anyone I loved going there, or even going away, for that matter. Her sadness consumed the rest of my day. She's been on my mind constantly, and I pray her sadness goes away. Somehow.

There are bigger problems in this messy world than my kid wearing his shoes at abnormal times. And who's to say it's even weird! Maybe I'm the weird one for taking my shoes off the second I cross the threshold. And who cares anyway?! We're all unique with unique preferences, and that's what makes this messy world so beautiful and fun.

So the next time I'm stressing over something trivial, tell me to lighten up. I'm too old and life is too short to stress over the uniqueness of those around me just because I don't understand them. I'm sure there are a handful of attributes people don't understand about me, and I make no apologies for the person I am. I'm not perfect, but I will always stay true to who I am.

And so should my Austin. Wear those shoes anytime you want, sweet boy!

See the Good, Be the Good!