Hawaiian Memories and Reflections on Shoes

I was wearing some uncomfortable shoes today, and for some reason, it made me think of this story I wrote in an email a couple of years ago when we took the family to Hawaii.

Okay, so I have this pair of leather sandals that I have had for, no kidding, 5 years. They are wearing out, but by and large are extrememly comfortable to wear. Over this summer I have purchased 5 different pair of sandals, searching for another pair to equal them. I've thrown them away twice, trying to force myself to move on, but had to retrieve them from the bin. They are like my "lucky shoes" and I just can't get rid of them. But, when we decided to go to the beach today, I decided to wear them over another pair, thinking I wouldn't mind if the sand ruined them, because they are so old.

We get to the beach and the waves are great, scooping up, slamming, and sliding up the sand. I lay my towel down right on the edge where the wet and dry sand meet, take my sandals off, and immediately here comes a great wave that, oh, oh, oh, is gonna get me! I jump up and move my towel and turn around to grab my shoes and ONE of them is gone. I'm laughing, thinking how silly I am to have "ruined" the pair so quickly. Scotty thinks it's just buried in the sand so we half-heartedly dig around for it. No luck.

We play on the beach for a couple of hours, moving further down the way. A turtle keeps swimming near us and it actually touches the boys. We find out later there is a $15,000 fine for touching sea turtles. (Good thing it touched them and not the other way around!) It starts to rain so we pack up. I think of my shoe again, as I'm gathering everyone elses. We look down the beach and unbelievably, what do we find as we walk along the sand? My Shoe!

I told you it was a lucky one.

What are you waiting for?

Jared has gone back to Tuacahn High School. He really missed his friends there. It was fun having him at Dixie High, and it was certainly convenient, but this is where he wants to be and where he will be able to create those high school memories. He had to make quite a few promises in order to convince us to let him go back, one of which is that he will go on a date with a girl, and he will also go to a school dance, like Junior Prom. I hope those will be good memories for him, too. He's such a cutie.

We will have to cut back a little on the college classes, but that's okay. It's a journey, not a race, and it never was my idea for him to get his Associates during high school. I can already picture him graduating. He'll walk across the stage in that beautiful ampitheatre and we will be so proud. And he will be proud of his high school, and that's what counts.