Purple Crocs and Growing Up

I had a moment today when I realized how much Eleanor is growing up, both physically and emotionally.

Crocs

Brigham found the perfect pair of Crocs for Eleanor in May: sparkly, purple, and ON SALE. As in, $12 for these perfect shoes that normally go for $35 or more.

These shoes were an instant hit with Eleanor; the first time she wore them, she kicked her feet out as she walked and watched the shoes sparkle as she made her way around the house.

Eleanor’s purple Crocs were a summer staple at our house. She wore them everywhere, sometimes even in the pool when the pavement was too hot for bare feet.

I knew that these amazing shoes wouldn’t last forever, and I was sad to see them go. Eleanor loved wearing them, and I wanted her Crocs to be seamlessly forgotten and replaced with other sandals before Eleanor noticed they were gone.

When I noticed that her Crocs were getting too a bit too tight in July, I put them in a drawer and then forgot to pack them away with her other clothes that she had outgrown.

That was a mistake.

Eleanor found those Crocs this morning and was SO EXCITED to wear them. But there was no way those shoes were going to stay on for long.

Her heels hung out the back of the shoes and fell off as she walked.

At first she was confused. She motioned for me to help her put the shoes back on her feet several times and went to pick them up each time the shoes fell off.

Then she got angry. No matter how hard she tried to stretch her Crocs or shove them over her toes, nothing was going to make them fit her again.

Then the tears came, and my heart went out to this little girl. She was so sad that something she loved wasn’t working for her.

Two Lessons About Growing UP

I learned two lessons from Eleanor and those purple sparkly Crocs.

Enjoy Everyday

As I saw Eleanor’s heels hang outs the back of her Crocs, I wished for a second that she was little again, and able to wear those shoes.

I have been missing the baby phase with Eleanor recently, and not fitting into her Crocs reminded me of just how much she has grown. She isn’t my little baby anymore.

But then I remembered something else.

These purple Crocs took us on some fun adventures. Exploring a beach and a rainforest. Neighborhood walks. Aquarium visits. Playing in the grandparents’ backyards. Gathering sticks on the porch. Picking strawberries from the planter boxes. And yes, even swimming in the pool.

Those were not the adventures of a little baby. Those are fun memories with a little girl who wants to play hard and have fun. Even though I miss those baby days and I wish time would slow down sometimes, I am learning to be OK that my baby is growing up.

I’m trying to make sure that every stage of Eleanor’s life is my new favorite, rather than dwelling on how my life used to be with Eleanor as a little baby. I’m learning to enjoy everyday.

There are Hard Lessons in Growing Up

Eleanor’s sadness and anger at the loss of her favorite shoes made me emotional. In a moment of desperation to alleviate her sadness, I got on the Crocs website and searched for another pair that would fill the void of those sparkly beauties.

And then I stopped for a second when I realized that Eleanor had completely forgotten about the shoes about 3 minutes later. She was off playing while I obsessed over toddler Crocs.

Eleanor experienced a hard thing today where something she wanted couldn’t be hers. Because she is a toddler, she was able to bounce back very quickly.

But there will be times in her life when hard things happen and the solution won’t be to simply forget about a pair of purple sparkly Crocs.

Growing up causes growing pains, and I won’t always be able to solve her problems.

But I will be there to help her work through the hard things when they happen.

And sure, I will probably end up buying her another pair of Crocs at some point (once they go on sale, of course. I’m not made of money.) But the fact remains that Eleanor is learning to deal with hard things, and she came out stronger on the other side.

Just like me.

Just like you.

We can learn a lot from a toddler and a little pair of Crocs.

Love, Molly
Go Forth. Go North.

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