Go Barefoot

There is a lot that comes with a name.  So much so, that I don't really like to name things.  I was off the hook with Burl (John Burl, V).  Then, came all his stuffed animals that I didn't even try to name.  We just call them by what they are.  Doggie, Big Bear, Little Bear, Tiger, etc.  When we got our minivan, I broke the bank of creativity and called her Mini.  Then, came Fern, which we had named a while ago when I said this one sentence way before we had children, "I hope I get a red-headed little girl and I would like to name her Fern."  John was on board right away.

In between all of that, I started a blog.  I had a lot of fun coming up with a name for it.  I wanted something that sounded fun and freeing.  Something that described what my day looks like, or at times, what I want it to look like.  A Barefoot Day does that for me.
 

In my head, it paints a picture of a life of spontaneity, freedom, ease, and relaxation.  I have this vision of this girl, roaming around her day among tasks and duties and joys and games, enjoying it all.  Her children play around her and with her.  She is simple and complicated wrapped into one.  She never bothers with shoes because she is completely engaged in the activities at hand and has no time to bother with shoes.  Whether it's walking in the yard, feeling the grass under her feet, making dinner, hanging laundry on the line, or making little crowns out of weeds from the yard, shoes just seem like a formality instead of a necessity.  And formalities are so not cool.

It all sounds dreamy and romantic and So.Not.My.Life.  Well, maybe a little bit of it.  To be honest, I don't walk outside without my chaco flip flops.  Burl won't go outside without shoes either.  That kid is totally into shoes, or boots as he likes to call them.  I have to go to bed with clean feet-washing them every night is a formality that I have to have in the summer days.  But, I still have those barefoot moments.

Those barefoot moments aren't big moments.  They are simple.  They are informal.  They are what I'm going to miss when the kids get older.  They are usually found when I'm playing on the floor with the kids OR making dinner with kids in the kitchen and talking to John OR sitting on our little stoop talking at the end of the day OR those few occasions that I get to craft something OR those other rare occasions when I get up early and have some time to myself.  As much as I like adventure, it's those barefoot moments that I live for!

Today is National Barefoot Day.  Really, it is.  On this Friday and on this weekend, I hope that I make time for those barefoot moments.  I hope we all do, because I really believe that's where life is.