The Yellow Lion: The Very Beginning

Golden Gate Yellow Flowers, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

The first shoes I remember were soft and yellow-beige sandals, with a little lion appliqué.
I was three years old, and fell in love.
When a consensus was reached that we found the right fit, I got a ride on the big yellow swinging lion and everybody congratulated me on my new sandals.
This felt so good!

In fact, it was so much fun, that I couldn’t wait another year for my parents to buy me another pair of sandals.
Conveniently though unintentionally, I left my beloved sandals behind when we stopped at the gas station.

We went back to the gas station, but the little lion sandals were gone…
My secret victory was complete: we went back to the shoe store, and got another pair of sandals. This time, the little lion sandals were sold out, but I still got to ride the lion!

Years later, my toddler daughter is obsessed with shoes: she has to try on any pair of shoes that she sees (especially on someone else’s feet!)…
One Sunday, we went for a shoe-shopping tour, trying the most adventurous styles -
Spiky red soccer shoes, knee-high lace-up boots (call it thigh high for a 3 year old!), hot pink stilettos (both right sided, by the way). We were having fun!

This obsession was infectious, and the Sunday Shoe Store tour have soon become a sacred ritual:
Salute the colorful window, remove your shoes and enter the fragrant Shoe Temple, worship the shoes, and finally, after much struggle, reach enlightenment and walk around to show it off...

Now my daughter is no longer obsessed, but I am cureless. Sure, shoe shopping is fun – but who needs to go all the way to the store when Mommy’s closet already has the best selection in town?