The Cure for Bare Feet

So, remember how I told you that Tucker consistently takes off his right shoe, at every single opportunity?

Well, listen to this.

One evening last week, we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Breckenridge: Giampietro's, an Italian bistro. Tucker had finished his meal, and he was growing increasingly fussy and agitated in his highchair.

My dad, who continues to be my hero and Tucker's, offered to take Tuck for a walk. Dad was finished eating, and he didn't mind giving Tuck a change of scenery, which would in turn give Tucker's parents a moment of peace to enjoy their meals as well.

The restaurant is very quaint (very small), so Tucker and Poppa went for a stroll on the snowy sidewalk outside. Moments later, sooner than anyone expected, they came back. Tucker was crying, and my dad was puzzled. He said, "I'm not sure what is wrong, but he really wanted to come back inside."

We wondered what the problem was... perhaps he was still hungry? Perhaps he missed Mommy? He and Poppa are such buddies, so why would he want to end this little stroll through the snow?

Just then, my brother said, "Hey, Tucker's missing a shoe. Where is his boot?"

We looked underneath the highchair, and there it was: his snow boot. He had kicked it off during his post-meal tirade, and nobody noticed that he was in one stocking foot before he walked out the door.

So why was he crying?? Oh, only because he was on a mountain hike in one boot and one sock.

My dad felt horrible, pretty sure he was out of the running for Grandparent of the Year. But the truth is, not one of us noticed that Tucker was missing his footwear, and there were four other adults to do the checking. So give yourself a break, Dad, since I imagine you just might still be losing sleep from this oversight.

But it has a happy ending: Tucker has stopped taking off his shoes and socks! He keeps them on now, since I suspect he worries about the natural consequence of walking barefoot through snow if he loses one.

And thus, the shoes stay on. Thanks, Poppa.