more than a pair of shoes

 Lillypants spent the day Saturday with her gramma and grampa and came home with these:

To you they look like some snazzy sparkly sneakers.

To me? They are a little bit more.

My mom was the daughter of a shoe shop owner in a small small Indiana town. When I hear stories of my mother's childhood, the setting is most likely always the shoe store. My mother and her dad would close up shop to grab a Coke. He'd show her how  to measure the  proper size.  The lovely smell of leather. Good times. Hard times. This shoe store shaped my mother's life.

My grandfather and this shoe store passed before my time.

I've always enjoyed hearing about my grandfather.

I know my mother wishes I could have known him.

I know him more than she may realize.

On Saturday she did more than buy Lilly a pair of shoes.

Sometimes a pair of shoes aren't just shoes...they are memories of the past.

They are a glimpse into a childhood.

They are a connection between generations.