Exciting news! Our granddaughter was born yesterday. Right on her due date. Such an obedient little girl.  She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 inches long.  She has a beautiful pink little complexion and delightful brown hair.  Mother and baby are doing fine.

At one point, she stretched and her feet came out of her blanket.  Her toes were spread out — just like she was ready to put on flip flops.  On the way home, I thought it would be fun to see if I could find some and take them to her the next time we visited.

I stopped at the store but alas there weren’t any flip flops for newborn babies.  Can’t imagine why.

As I was looking for the flip flops, I got an idea for an activity that would be fun for grandmothers to do with their granddaughters.  But, before I tell you about my idea, I must share two things with you.

First, as a child, I was always barefoot.  I hated shoes.  I always had a hard time finding shoes that fit and felt comfortable.  I had wide, flat feet.  Well, at least I thought they were flat.  When I got married and I mentioned my flat feet in passing to my husband, he looked at them and said that they were not flat.  They were Gateway Arch in St. Louis high!  Put that with my wide feet and no wonder I had a hard time finding comfortable shoes.

Second, I do not like to shop.  Unless it is for technology stuff,  books, or piano music.  And I especially do not like to shop for shoes.

Fast forward to the day our granddaughter was born and I found myself looking for flip flops.  Next to the sandals, some brightly colored little summer canvas shoes caught my eye.  The yellow ones were so fun.  And the orange ones.  And the ones with yellow and green polka dots.  And that is when this idea popped into my head.

I thought it would be great fun to have a special shopping day with my granddaughter.  We could start the day with buying matching summer canvas shoes.  Maybe we could find matching purses or bracelets.  We could buy nail polish and polish our nails. We could have lunch.  Stop at a bookstore and buy a book and go to the park to read the book and play.  We could end the day by getting an ice cream cone.

It’s amazing how a new little granddaughter can soften my old shoe-and-shopping-hating-little-soul and turn me into someone who is willing to not only shop but shop for shoes!

Welcome to the family, Natalie.