I went shoe shopping for my twins on Saturday. Our mission was to go to the mall and get out with two pairs of sneakers as quickly as possible. I’ve learned that there’s no room for leisurely shopping with three small children….at least not if you want to avoid meltdowns that will prompt strangers to look at you with disgust or pity. I brought Mark, my husband, along for reinforcements.

I quickly learned on this shopping trip how much I miss the days when my twins didn’t have an opinion on their attire. Now that Mila and Eli are three years old, they know what they like and can be almost obsessive about it.

At the store, Eli announced that he was going get some green shoes. Soon after this declaration, he eyed some black sneakers with green stripes and insisted that he try them on. These shoes were so ugly. Who in the right state of mind wears black sneakers? If you have a pair, I’ll go ahead and apologize for offending you.
I instantly began thinking of how these hideous sneakers would clash with khaki shorts and numerous other outfits that Eli has. I tried pointing him to other shoes. I found some tan-colored sneakers with orange stripes and began laying out my case as to why this pair of shoes would be more fun to wear than the first pair he saw. About a year ago, this tactic would have worked. I could tell that my effort to persuade him wasn’t going to work this time.
I crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t find the black and green sneakers in his size. Of course, I found a size 9. I still had hope that he wouldn’t like them once he was wearing them, but as luck would have it, he loved wearing them. He smiled from ear to ear as he ran around the store in his new, yet very ugly, shoes.

My husband, who also wasn’t a big fan of the black and green sneakers, urged me to come to my senses. “Let him get the ones he wants, Holly. He likes them, and that’s all that matters,” he said.

I’m convinced Mark’s change of heart had more to do with the cheaper price tag on the black shoes, but nonetheless, he did have a valid point. Eli is not a baby anymore. He’s a little individual with his own likes and dislikes. At times, I need to give him the opportunity to make some choices of his own.

I have to pick my battles, and this battle clearly wasn’t worth the hassle. Plus, I would likely spike a meltdown of epic proportion right there in the mall. I know there will be more than enough battles with much higher stakes in the future, and I will not be able to back down. For now, I’ll settle with having one happy little boy with horrible fashion sense.

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