Croc Craze

It's official. Garrett is crazy about Crocs. Only the "real" Crocs with the little alligator on them. You know, the ones that cost about $20 more than the knock-offs. Yup, that's Daddy's boy. Get the good stuff. Pay full price. No need for a sale. So opposite from me. Oh, well. Could be worse.

I digress. Garrett loves Crocs. It all began about a year ago when we were at the hospital for the bazillionth upper respiratory infection leading to the tonsil removal. In an effort to kill some time and to bribe (sure, I bribe, and I'm not afraid to admit it) the boy into being patient a little bit longer, we got him a pair at the hospital gift shop. He really wanted the bright red pair but in an effort not to give his Daddy a heart attack, I coaxed him into the black pair.

Little man wore that black pair pure out. Didn't even outgrow them. Just wore them out. Then winter came and we had a good excuse to pack the tired old soles away.

Just when we thought the Croc craze was no more, Kenny and I took a little vacation this winter and came home to find Garrett with a new pair of Crocs. This pair was black again but where the round holes usually would be, there were Mickey Mouse heads. At first I rolled my eyes but I have come around to the Mickey's. Maybe it's because Garrett is so stinkin' proud of them and tells everyone he sees "These aw my croc shoes. They have Mickey's. I got them at Nawd-strum store." Yes, the child knows that Nordstrom's is notorious for shoes.

And so it REALLY began. Everywhere we went Garrett noticed who had on Crocs and which stores carried them. Each trip to the mall became a battle to get him to leave the shoes at the mall. The boy loves him some Crocs. Eventually, I broke down and got him the lime green pair with Mickey's for grins and giggles and then a red pair for good attempts at using the potty. Daddy didn't ever have the heart attack.

But today, oh today, my child fell in love all over again with these:

What's there not to love? Crocs? Good. Red? Good. OU? Good. And so I couldn't even begin to argue that we 1)have enough pairs of Crocs at home or 2)that there are children all over the world with no shoes at all and we have more than enough. I just did what I had to do. I'm praying that Daddy won't mind since they pay respect to the old Alma Mater.

And, because his little heart just couldn't contain all of the Croc joy and he certainly couldn't leave them "wonely" (lonely) in the closet all night, Garrett carefully collected all of his most valuable possessions and placed them into his bed for "sweet dweams with me tonight."

I don't know why but things like this make me fall in love with this little man all over again. I love his quirks. I love his passion for all things important in his world. And I wonder, with this much passion at age two, what will he do with what he is passionate about at twenty-two, thirty-two and so on. I pray that he will use his passion (surely about something important and life changing) to make a difference in this world. Maybe not in the Croc-sort-of-way, but about something. Anything that makes his sweet heart tick. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.

PS: I think I will get a pair of the Crocs bronzed. You know, like our moms did with our baby shoes. Kidding. Totally kidding. But I will save a pair. For good times sake.