The Shoe Story

Everyone has a fetish.... The husband does.... He has more books ..than clothes.. and that fact was one of the first things he told me about himself...

My Mum does...she collects old perfume bottles... hell not only old ones.. but also new ones... and doesn't use any one of them.... they dry up and then get transported to her collection cupboard...

My brother does.. he collects matchboxes from everywhere.... as well... as miniatures of various things and has them all arranged on the ledge above his desk at work...

My mother-in-law does ..she collects all kinds of cleaning liquid and gadgets.... she has various bottles from all over the world with various coloured gooey liquid in them..which she deligently uses to clean every inch of her house...

I do too... I collect cook books and childrens story books...I also collect clothes and shoes and bags... and..... well!!!! Whatever....( rolling my eyes)..This post isn't about my fetish for a number of things ..but about Joy and his...well...collection of shoes...

I don't call it a fetish.. coz..poor guy doesn't even know what that means...he eats what I make him eat.. he plays with all the toys I give him ...he sleeps when I make him sleep ....He wears what I make him wear...he does what I want him to..... ok!!!! scrap the last one... He does exactly what he wants to do....

Anyways this post is about his collection of shoes....

Joy is 9 months old.. and he owns... 20 pairs of shoes... yes... 20

In the past 9 months he has worn 7 pairs....each one has a story....

Firstly.... There was this pair I bought him.... at 2 months.... He never wore it... no.. maybe once or twice... and they kept slipping off.. they were yellow.. his favourite colour and with a lil giraffe embroidered on them...they were cute... but well they were quite useless.. coz.. at 2 months .. very few babies need shoes... that is also one of the reasons why I don't have a picture of them.. coz.. I think I gave them away.

Then came pair number two...a very smart pair of sneakers from Mother Care..in blue and red.. with laces .. and an anti skid sole.. The husband's aunt had brought a whole load of stuff for Joy and these were the cutest..and the pair that fit him when he was 4 months... The husband and I loved this pair.. ....when we saw the price tag however....we almost died... It cost 28 pounds.... yes ....28 pounds.... There was this funny incident .. when .. the husband's sister accompanied us for Joy's doctors visit... while we were waiting our turn... Joy decided to do potty and hence had to be cleaned.... the sweet father and enthu cutlet aunt were ready to do the needful... however when they opened his diaper.. they found a total mess and were trying to do a neat job . ....what was I doing.... ???? The first thing I did was to take off Joy's sneakers and then hold them away from the mess ..My sister-in-law was quite amused .. and came home and told everyone.. that "here were we ..in the middle of loads of potty.. and Tina is yelling at the top of her voice... don't let the shoes get dirty..."..well what to do....? I have been told by the husband that I should frame the shoes with some of the stuff of Joys that I plan to frame and add to his room's wall... you know memorablia.... but may be I will hold on to it till baby number 2 arrives.. and then decide...

The third pair was one given by the sister- in -law , Joy's aunt herself... She came to Delhi to see her lil nephew for the first time.. also loaded like Santa Claus...Both she and her sweet hubby had apparently had a blast shopping for stuff for Joy...and this pair of red canvas shoes were one of the things... They are adorable... and go very well with Joys jeans .. P.s Joy also found this particular pair to be extra tasty...

The fourth pair is a pair of leather sandals or floaters.... very very smart... and by smart ... I mean SMART... not cute... but SMART.... This is one pair ...I would pick up even for the husband... These were given to Joy by a cousin of mine... she has two lil boys of her own....and dresses them very well...Joy used to wear it when he was 6 months old... and could wear it even till about a month ago... try and visualise.. Joy in a linen shirt...a pair of khakis and these shoes... very very happening and cool... na...

The fifth pair is another MotherCare pair of shoes ... very cute ... They are called Pioneers.. they are meant for babies.. who are attempting to walk... they are very soft with anti skid soles..I think Joy liked these the best himself... coz.. he would sometimes wail when we tried to get his feet into any shoe... but with this one.. he never did... these were his regular park visit shoes..

The sixth pair is a pair of red summer sandals... that I picked up from the local market.... They are casual and are perfect for summers in Delhi.. where the weather is miserable.... nice and airy they keep his feet cool.And are my favourite colour.. RED.

The seventh pair is another pair of canvas shoes in blue and orange... they are still a lil big for Joy but I still make him wear them....I am hoping they will help him walk.. he is attempting to do so....This pair was given by my cousin with the two lil boys as well...

Joy already has another 12 pairs of shoes in his closet... which will fit him till he will be 2 years old.... I am not writing about them... cos.. then I shall be here for ever....

Going back to what I was saying.. Joy and his shoe collection are fabulous....he now actually shows which pair he would like to wear with what clothes.... how does he do that at 9 months ?..Well he does... he either points out or throws the worst temper ever..if I decide otherwise... the shoe which reaches his mouth first ..is the one he wants...

Will write about the other pairs as and when he wears them....