James 1:4
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
When our oldest granddaughter, Virginia Rose, spends this past weekend with us, I've promised to take her shopping for long-sleeve shirts (she is growing like a weed!) and a new pair of shoes. There is a Payless Shoe Source en route from her home to ours, so I swing into the parking lot on Friday afternoon, and we hit the store.
The helpful and friendly clerk measures Virginia's foot, as I'm sure that has grown at least a half size since our previous purchase. Sure enough! She's gone from a 12 and a half to a 13. The clerk's recommendation is to buy a shoe a half size larger, so that's the section we focus on.
But there is one problem.
Up until this point, Virginia has been able to get away with wearing shoes with Velcro straps. Not anymore! The only pairs available in the "big girl" category have shoelaces. And Virginia has never learned to tie a shoe!
"Well, Virginia," I say, "it looks like Gammie and Papa will be giving you some lessons in how to tie a bow this weekend, won't we?"
"I want to learn, Gammie," she says happily, as her hands reach for the turquoise sneakers pictured above. "All the the kids in my class wear tie shoes."
That doesn't surprise me. You see, although Virginia is in third grade, she is a very young eight, having a birthday on July 21st, and beginning school the first of August. So naturally, she is smaller than most of her peers, who would have had to submit to lace-up shoes months, and possibly a year, before.
When we arrive at our house, Virginia can't wait to show off her new footwear to Papa and MIL, and it isn't long before she makes the first struggling attempts to tie her shoes as we've demonstrated to her.
We encourage her to keep at it, acknowledging that it takes patience and practice to get the hang of this task that so many of us have done for so long, we take it for granted.
On Saturday, Danny aka Papa, and I decide she needs a further tutorial, hoping that this repetitive exercise will boost her confidence.
And after many failed attempts, at long last, her first bow! Virginia's perseverance pays off big time!
She is all smiles at her accomplishment, as well she should be. Virginia no longer has to feel like the odd-kid-out at school. She has finally attained a maturity appropriate for her age, and as far as she is concerned, she isn't lacking a single thing.
May we all continue to persevere faithfully until we attain the goals God has set before us.
Amen!
Tying shoe laces can be difficult. Don't they have velcro shoes above age 8? Over here in the UK we have them for all ages; but then we are very slow learners.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
There are probably some shoe stores that do carry Velcro styles in larger sizes, but I sure didn't see any at Payless. Anyway, Virginia is so happy to have learned this skill, and when I had lunch with her at school this week, purposely untied her shoe so she could show me that she's capable of tying it back up all on her own!
ReplyDeleteAnd no, y'all aren't slow - lol!
Love and blessings!
So glad Virginia is enjoying her new learning skills.
DeleteWhat a great invention is Velcro. Swiss inventor George de Mestral invented his first touch fastener when, in 1941, he went for a walk in the woods and wondered why Burdock seeds clung to his coat and dog.
Before Velcro I used to staple my shoes to my socks to keep them in place.
God bless.
Lol, Victor!!! Thanks for the smiles today.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Oh that is a milestone! And thanks to Velcro, one that kids these days can postpone longer than our generation could. Great example of try, try, try again!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my adult sons with autism have trouble tying shoes, so they use slip ons or Velcro shoes. To whoever invented Velcro. thank you!
I know, Galen, Velcro has been a life saver for so many folks, especially those with limited small motor skills. I remember how frustrated I became as a child trying to learn to tie my own shoes. So glad Virginia essentially learned to do so in one weekend.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hooray for Virginia Rose. Good job, sweetie <3
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of her, too, Beckie!
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Gee, I wish we'd had velcro when I was a kid, and also my kids...being a lefty I have never been very good at bow-tying. One of my sons is also a lefty, and he had the same issue. But with perseverance we finally mastered it, at least enough to keep them tied. I was glad when I grew up big enough to not have to tie shoe laces anymore.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Pamela! I so struggled with this skill as a kid, even though I am right-handed. However, if memory serves me right, I think I mastered it at age four or five. Just didn't want to come begging to my mother whenever my shoe came untied. Thankfully, there was Velcro when my own children were young.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I had not thought about that becoming a problem, however; we had to learn much earlier because we didn't have the luxury of velcro. My granddaughter, Layla Lee is six, so I will see if we can get a head start on that little problem soon. Thank you, Martha.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that, Nells! I tried for years to convince Virginia that she needed to learn how to tie a shoe, but she bucked me every time until, of course, she sees all the other boys and girls with tie shoes. Peer pressure sometimes works for the good. And I love your granddaughter's name! Beautiful!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Thanks for the heads up, Martha. I love her name too.
DeleteRites of passage. So sweet and a memory that will stay with her always.
ReplyDeleteRites of passage is a great way to put this, Terri. :) I'm so glad she's made this work for her.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, I like how you use the illustration of Virginia learning to tie her shoes to growing in maturity not only physically but spiritually as well. This is a memorable time for Virginia and all of you!
ReplyDelete(I must have been in Kindergarten when I learned to tie my shoes. Velcro is a great invention, however, I hate the sound of Velcro being unloosened!)
Love and blessings!
Kim, I think I was about four or five when I finally learned to tie my shoes on my own. It does take fine motor skills, that's for sure! Yes, learning this task is a sign of physical maturity, but also reflects our growing spiritual awareness, too. As she's growing up, Virginia does ask more mature questions about God, and that's wonderful!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Sorry has taken me so long to comment. Life... Congrats to VR and I love her retro shoes. Reminds of when I was in school oh so many years ago. :) Not the color but the Converse.
ReplyDeleteYes, those Converse shoes were and still are great, Bill! We are all really proud of how quickly Virginia learned, too.
DeleteLove and blessings!