Buying school shoes, an afternoon spent....

I never knew that having black and silver shoes was so important. Both my older boys were convinced. The younger two school kids also were opinionated, but not in surprising ways. Princess D had to have "sparkly" shoes with purple on them. Found the perfect pair at the Nike outlet, the only store I hate more than Hyper-Hades on a Saturday afternoon. E1 & E2 also had success there, but our oldest son was torn. I had set a price limit of $40...and to get Nike's he liked he would have to have $50. So I made a bold, almost unthinkable suggestion.....

"We could try the Adidas store."

"But mom, Nike is my favorite. "

"So, do you want shoes that look the way you want, or shoes that are the brand you want. C'mon. At least look. We can always come back."

(Growling and eye rolling) "All right."

So off we trudged to the more reasonably priced and 1000x less crowded Adidas store.

"How about these?"

His eyes grow large..."Yes! Ooooh, shiny. Do they have my size?"

And they did. Black and silver, almost identical to the coveted Nikes, but considerably more affordable.

"Thanks mom."

That's all right son. I'm proud of your choice. To realize getting a well made product YOU like is more important than having the "in" brand. Here's hoping this lesson sticks.