As told by her mom:
These shoes were destined to be hers.
I love a bargain and, headed to a yard sale, I asked Mira – my then 4 year old – if there was anything she wanted me to be on the lookout for, for her.
She answered: “I want sparkly red Dorothy shoes.”
Mira had recently been introduced to the story of Dorothy through a book about The Wizard of Oz. I thought to myself, “unlikely, but I’ll be on the lookout.”
Well, not only were sparkly red Dorothy shoes at the yard sale, they were exactly Mira’s size. She was thrilled, and so was I.
Fast forward to 13 months later…
Fighting my sentimental inclination to save them forever, I offered to take a picture of her with them. She agreed and then asked me to print one for her and to share the photo with all the people who’ve seen her wear them. She requested that I write the following caption:
“I needed to throw my sparkly shoes in the trash ’cause they were worn out. I loved them and I was sad for a long time.” ~ Mira Angelina, age 5
I followed her lead into the house where she put them in the trash, and held her as she cried hard for their loss.
Written by: Erica Giannone, preschool teacher and proud mama. Burlington, VT
Letting go is always hard. What a strong, brave young lady.
This tender story needed to be shared………every part of it, from the “what can I look-for for you” to the “I will forever love what you found” speaks of such right-on listening to another person and to one’s self!
We don’t have to wonder how Miss 5-year old gained the presence she has…
How blessed and grateful I am to know and love these wise and loving protagonists–and the coiner of the story!!!
Awww – I love that she fell in love with that story and the shoes! And how brave of her to let go. We can learn so much from children!
In full disclosure, this delightful story is about my sweet niece, as told by my incredible sister. So I’m admittedly biased. I nonetheless am certain that anyone who reads this sweet story with be touched by it. xo
Oh my goodness how brave of her to be able to let go. Such a remarkable little soul.
Agreed. She really is remarkable.
I just love the look on Mira’s face because it tells the whole story! And what a precious story it is! So much learning from such a wise little old soul… Thank you Mira for the lesson and thank you Erica for being so sensitive to a tender, loving little human!
This reminds me of a full body dragon costume my son used to wear. I think I felt the loss more than he did when he gave that up!
I used to have a pair of red little boots when I was around 5 and I remember loving them and wearing them every day. I don’t remember anything about throwing them away – my mom probably just put them away come spring time and I forgot about them by next winter. Probably for the best đ Nevertheless, 33 years later the memory is still there and I remember them fondly.