These shoes. I must ask one hundred times a day for my girls to “neaten up the shoes.” See that door right there in the picture, a giant coat closet with shelves for shoes. I’ve tried limiting everyone to one pair of shoes out, everything else in the closet. I put a nice shoe tray out, a place to collect everyone’s single pair….no matter what I say and what rules I try to implement…our entry way almost always looks just like this.
A few weeks ago, my friend Erika came over to plan some beginning of the year professional development. After we finished working, we went through this entry area as I walked Erika to her car. She stopped when she saw the pile of shoes. She tilted her head and said in an endearing tone, “Oh! The shoes!”
“I know! They drive me crazy!” I said.
“I love them,” she proclaimed and went on to explain how she’s missed the shoe piles now that her children are adults. She pulled out her phone to show me several shoe pictures she had snapped from when her children have visited. I was intrigued by this fresh perspective.
Now, every time I feel my blood beginning to boil at the sight of the shoe pile, I pause and think of Erika. I’m not quite at the place of loving the mess, but I’m trying hard to embrace this stage of life and all that it brings. I know someday, I’ll miss these shoes.
Where There Is Joy 
I’m so glad you wrote about the shoes! Yes, embrace them and enjoy the mess! It’s a sign that you have a house full of family!
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What a great mind shift. It reminds me of my mother’s comment when I complained how stubborn my then toddler sons were. “They are persistent, some day you will see that as a strength.” Your friend (with the great name) was right and so was my mom.
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I love your frien’s perspevtive. In my house I’m the one w/ the front room shoe pile. I have a plant stand on which I put shoes, but it’s not big enough to accommodate all my footwear. I’m the only one who removes my shoes in the house.
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Those things we once found annoying will one day be happy memories – promise.
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This so resonates with me. There were years when my kids and husband’s shoes piled under the back door coat rack, and then came the grandkids’ shoes… 19 pairs pile on each other. Now it’s mostly my husband’s and mine and on special days when we all gather together… the pile is quite large. Enjoy! Those shoes are a symbol of your togetherness. It’s one of my greatest visual memories of family times.
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This so resonates with me. There were years when my kids and husband’s shoes piled under the back door coat rack, and then came the grandkids’ shoes… 19 pairs pile on each other. Now it’s mostly my husband’s and mine and on special days when we all gather together… the pile is quite large. Enjoy! Those shoes are a symbol of your togetherness. It’s one of my greatest visual memories of family times.
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Isn’t it great when you gain a fresh perspective? I will have to rethink my husband’s enormous shoe pile!
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I love this slice. It is a good reminder of how quickly kids grow & how much things change over time. I do miss my kids’ shoes by the door, because that only happens now when they come to visit.
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Ah, Jessica, good luck seeing the endearing side of the shoe pile. I loved seeing the shoes and your ideas about it, especially the turn of your attitude. Yes, you will probably miss them sooner than you believe.
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Just the reframe I needed! I just *politely* asked my children *again* to PUT AWAY THE SHOES that crowd our front entryway. Next time I’ll try to remember that this is a sign of a full house and a full life… Notice I said “try”.
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Same. I’m still trying too. ❤️❤️❤️
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