New shoes

It was long overdue. I have NEVER purchased Jasmine a new pair of shoes. You know, REAL shoes. Little flippy-flops here and there, sure. A cheap pair of fancy red shoes in Chinatown this spring--OK. But you see, Jasmine has 2 fabulous cousins, both girls, both older. And Jasmine's Aunt Kiki INSISTS that her girls wear good shoes. So when Jasmine needs a new pair of shoes, I don't go driving 30 minutes to the mall, I walk out to the garage and dig through boxes.

The time came when Jasmine deserved a pair of honest-to-God, brand-spanking-new shoes. Not just because she's so darn cute. But this kid loves to run--over rocks and tree stumps and big gnarly roots and slippery oak leaves and dry drought-induced California dirt. And sometimes hand-me-down shoes, no matter how great they started off being, can be a little worn out by the time they get to us. So one fine morning last week Jasmine slipped and fell one too many times. Her poor little skinned knees took a final scraping and mama put her running-shoed foot down and said "We're going shopping".

Here, in all their glory, are Jasmine's first pair of carefully selected, professionally fitted running shoes. They tie up. They have traction. They bounce. They call out to us: Run. Jump. Skip. Slide. I can handle it.
We weren't taken any prisoners. We were going for a walk. Zami knows a running-shoed foot. She knows what it means in dog-speak and she will, grudgingly, tail hanging a little lower than normal, indulge Jasmine in walking her to the pond.
Now here's a girl with a purpose. Jasmine's nagymama came for a visit and we headed to our trail.
Playing trail guide, Jasmine is letting us know not to walk in the neigh-neigh poop. Notice the walking stick she is carrying. Just in case.