Flip-FLOPS and other shoe disasters....

There are shoes everywhere at my house.  Shoes by the front door.  Shoes by the back door.  Shoes down the hall and scattered around the kitchen.  The baby is constantly trying to get a hold of shoes to put them in her mouth.  I am constantly tripping over them all day long.  The “big” kids are constantly losing their shoes, because though they are everywhere, no one can remember where they last left theirs.  It is getting so bad I am almost ready to declare that we all start going barefoot.  Hey, we live in Florida, why not?  Last weekend, the shoe situation got so bad we were practically at that point without the declaration from me….
    We went down to Anna Maria Island, a beautiful island about an hour south of Clearwater to visit with friends who were vacationing there.  When we arrived, I noticed that my 7 year old daughter was wearing a pair of sandals we had received from a friend who had bought them for her daughter (who happens to be almost 10 years old) only to find that her daughter refused to wear them.  They were “new” shoes to my daughter, so of course, she was anxious to show them off, not caring that they were 2 sizes too big.  She was clumping around in them, trying to keep them on her feet but insisting they fit her just fine.  This was not a battle I cared to fight, and anyway they were the only shoes she had with her and we were not going home for new ones.  I chose to ignore the clumping and told her when we got home they would go on the shelf in the closet until she grew into them.  What else could I do?
    After a lovely and busy day with our friends we all collapsed in bed and woke up the next day ready for more fun on the island.  As we were getting ready for the day, I realized that my five year old son had broken his flip flops.  They were beyond any quick repair and so they had to be thrown away.  I seriously considered just letting him go without shoes for the day, our plans mostly consisted of hanging out at the beach and pool but we did want to go out to dinner and, well, he would need shoes for the rest of summer.  So, off I went to the store to buy him a new pair.  Store #1 did not have shoes in his size.  Store #2, thankfully did, but not flip flops which I was hoping for.  I bought him a pair of off-brand “crocs”,  those ugly shoes that feel like they are made from craft foam but cost a whole lot more.  What else could I do?
    A few hours later, we are having lunch with our friends, after playing on the beach for a little while, when my nine year old son told me he left his shoes on the beach.   Are you kidding me?   After lunch, he ran down there and, thankfully, they were still there.  Finally, something worked out for us.  We had another lovely and busy day of the beach and the pool, and all the while I kept my older son’s shoes in sight lest he leave them behind again.  Finally, we were all sunburned and hungry so we decided to go get ready for dinner.  Guess what?  My oldest daughter, the one who should be the most responsible, the most reliable, could not find her shoes.  Anywhere.  We took her back to our room barefoot, she had to borrow a pair of shoes for dinner.  What else could we do?
    In the midst of the whole crazy weekend, Tim stepped on a piece of glass and could not comfortably wear his flip flops.  Thankfully, he is responsible and he had brought an extra pair of shoes.  Unfortunately, even responsible adults get distracted.  He left his flip flops behind when we headed back home on Monday evening.  For now, he is doing without the flip flops.  What else can he do?
    1 weekend.  7 people.  5 shoe crises.  I think it is time.  From now on, I am officially declaring that for the rest of summer-  we are all going barefoot.  It just seems to be the best thing for us to do!