A Strap-py affair!

Yes, this post is about straps - and before your imagination takes flight, let me assure you it's not about anything naughty! Quite the opposite actually...straps of shoes for toddlers.

My young one seldom gets his shoes right - they have had the pleasure of ending up on the wrong feet much to my displeasure. I don't believe I am alone in this hitch but that does not quite end my woes.


A little research on the information highway turned me towards exits that did little to reduce or improve my predicament in the least bit. What I learnt was that children are not inconvenienced, with their feet still taking on a harder outline, and therefore feel little discomfort for wearing them wrong. That does little to my discomfort of watching those tiny feet in action anticipating a tumble in the next step.

Observation has great power as I learnt a long time ago. And this is what I saw. My kiddo finds it more comfortable to strap the shoes in than out. Hence, he wears them so. A little experiment with my shoes made me realize that it is indeed easier to strap them on the inside.

Now I have no idea or inclination to research why the straps of shoes are on the outside. Maybe it's more comfortable to walk for adults with them on the outside, or they conform to our sense of beauty. I don't know.

What I wish for is, for shoe designers to create shoes with straps on the inside, or at least offer that option for shoes for the young ones. Till I come across one such pair (highly unlikely) or my kiddo grows out of wearing them wrong, this strappy affair of mine isn't going to end anytime soon. Sigh!

Conflicting Mind by Ronaq

This poem has been written by Ronaq Sahni, a 6th grader...rarely do we come across such sweet gems...thought I would share this with you all:


CONFLICTING MIND.
I stand at a Crossroads,
Perplexed and torn, bewildered and confounded
Tugged and pulled, the paths drawing me in,
I stand there,
Gripped in fear of making an erroneous choice
Yet acknowledging, I must make one,
On the path to my left, I see enlightenment,
A colorful rainbow, bright blue sky, butterflies fluttering through the air,
I am quite tempted to choose this road,
But there is a false sense of security and gaiety,
I realize as I gaze at the butterflies fly idly, and the rainbow, which seems almost bland,
I then have a feeling that this path would lead to sorrow and would end my journey,
I fought the temptation to choose this passage and looked away.
On the road to my right, the clouds are black,
The moon unseeable in the pitch black sky,
Rain pounding hard against the ground,
The trees sagged, their leafless branches almost touching the ground,
The road is fouled and begrimed, covered with cracks,
The grass was dry and eerily glowing in the darkness of the night,
This road looked miserable, and I knew then, that this is not the road to take,
If I did, my journey would come to an unpleasant end.
At last, I set my eyes upon the path in front of me,
There was a slight drizzle, and the clouds were gray,
But the rain was helpful, supporting the greenery underneath,
The Sun poked politely through the clouds, casting a rainbow that looked true and genuine,
I took a deep breath and walked ahead, hoping I chose well.
While making decisions, one must make sacrifices,
Yet keeping in mind that they cannot get out of hand,
Many hate choices and making decisions, but the wise do not,
For they know that our choices control our destiny, and keep our destiny from controlling us.



[Source: https://www.facebook.com/subarnas ... Ronaq is Subarna's son...Ronaq has been chosen for a writers' workshop with author & poet Paul B.Janeczko after being declared First Place winner in a Middle School Poetry Competition. All the very best my dear boy and thank you for letting me share :) ]