Her First Pair of Shoes

Wrapped in a measure of cloth, I have held my daughter close to me, heart to heart on my front, or, crow’s nested on my back. From this point of closeness, she has eyed her surroundings, been held within our family and has gently, slowly come to be in the world. 

My daughter, strong, determined, a little girl with tenacity and spirit glinting in her eyes is keen to follow everywhere we go, to emulate everything her brother does, to be present fully in each moment. Yet, we have journeyed, we two, immersed in each other.

Shoes. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, a delightful assortment of textures, panoply of hues. They should not be emotive, yet somehow our society has loaded them with meaning, where even colours have a gender.

Today we purchased my daughter’s first pair of shoes, so that she may complete her descent and walk with us, touching the earth.

Through contact with her surroundings I hope my little girl with gain relationships of wonder and delight with the natural world, I hope she will receive the gifts of empathy with all beings and the world. She is taking her first steps of being in and discovering the earth, kindling curiosity and interest, discovery and invention in equal measure. She is learning through involvement and unity, meaning flowing through her senses, experience permeating her whole being; she wants to be into everything!

Now we will head out into the world together, side by side, eyes wide open, senses alive, ready for wonder.

Together we can share in the joys of our discoveries, my daughter seeing and doing things for the first time, and for me, a chance to experience things anew through her eyes; it all starts with expectation ~ and a pair of pink shoes.

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About Ali

Ali Jones is a teacher and writer. She is a mother of three. Her work has appeared in Fire, Poetry Rivals, Strange Poetry, Ink Sweat and Tears, Snakeskin Poetry, Atrium,  Mother’s Milk Books., Breastfeeding Matters, Breastfeeding Today and The Green Parent magazine. She writes a regular column for Breastfeeding Matters Magazine.  She was the winner of the Green Parent Writing Prize in 2016 and has also written for The Guardian. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram