The Mystery of The Missing Shoe..

“The title may be reminiscent of some old Enid Blyton classic but honestly, I don’t really know how to tell you this story, the way you experienced it or the way we as your parents witnessed the entire episode. It would have been so much better if I had shot a video of your expressions the time when you found your lost treasure but I guess we were so lost at the look of sheer exuberance on your face that we just stood there reveling in your joy. ”

---

Dear Riddhie,

Of all habits that you have picked up over last few weeks perhaps the one that we as your parents have been particularly appreciative of, has been your NOT wanting to move around barefoot at all. You bring us your shoes to put them on your feet any time that you are let down from the bed and every time that we plan going out of the house, you are up and ready, dressed or not, with your shoes in your hands, wanting us to help you wear them.  

Though your mother ensured you had multiple pair of footwear to go along, at this moment you are particularly fond of one pair of white and pink sneakers that I had got for you. Maybe you like the shade or perhaps it is some comfort factor but the moment you are asked to go get your shoes, you always return with the same pair.

But as it happened, on one of the weekends when we decided to go out for regular grocery shopping your mom could not locate one of the shoes from your favorite pair. She searched for it in all possible places but still could not trace it. After a long but wasteful hunt she came to the conclusion that it perhaps somehow got mixed with the trash and was thrown out accidently. It was quite a possibility since you loved to rummage through the waste bin and shelves and old newspapers and often mixed your stuff with random things. It was however, difficult explaining the situation to you. You kept bringing us the single shoe that was left and kept pestering us to help you wear it even if you had a different pair on.

We tried looking for a similar pair in the market but I guess as it had to be, an exact same pair could not be sought. And so, every time that we decided to go out some place you would come around carrying the single shoe and look at it with your brown puppy eyes and make whining sounds and your mom would turn the house upside down all over again in a vain attempt to look for the missing shoe.

It seemed that no other pair was good enough for you. We kept taking that single shoe away from your hand and you kept bringing it back to us, putting it over the tables and in your toys and everywhere that you thought was special. Finally, your mom and I decided to take it and throw it away as well and just as we were about to do it, your mom suggested that she would just put it in your clothes cabinet and we could throw it with other things before we moved out of the house for good.

And I guess you should be thankful to her since as she went and opened your cabinet and there, to her surprise, she found the other missing shoe neatly tucked between layers of your clothes. We realized that you were so fond of your shoes that you actually had taken one and kept it safe and tucked it in with your clothes. Maybe you had done it knowingly or perhaps as part of your regular play routine, we couldn’t say. But the moment your mom brought the other shoe out, united the two and brought the pair to you, your eyes sparkled bright and you let out such a cry of delight and heart melting smile that we stood transfixed to our place.

I am sure by the time you read this, most of such little things would have lost their meaning. A piece of candy might not bring you the same cheer as it brings you now but nonetheless I would want you to learn and understand how to segregate between pleasure and happiness. A smile often lasts longer than a laughter so let this little story be a reminder to you that while it is important to seek and pursue things that make you laugh, a lasting smile can only come from the contentment that you feel inside and at times while the former can be easily achieved by spending some money, the latter often requires pushing yourself to your limits and testing yourself time and again. I hope you would know what I intend here, for if you can understand this, I am sure I would see you smiling when you come around and see me now.

 

Love,

Dad.

PS: Just for the records, here is a picture of your first favorite pair of shoes…