The Dog Ate Her ... Shoe?

That's the only thing I can come up with at this point. I've searched high and low, inside and outside, under the couch, in the car - everywhere a little toddler size six shoe could possibly be but nothing, nada, zilch, zip.

So what's the big deal about a shoe? Well, a lot actually. Because of Raquel's low muscle tone, she is a very clumbsy walker. All the cute, clunky shoes - that I love and wear - don't work for her because she trips easily. She needs simple stuff. And simple is not always that easy.

For starters, like any shoe, it has to be comfortable. But Raquel can't tell me if her shoe hurts - and because of her sensory issues, she has a pretty high pain threshold - so I only find out if a shoe is not working by seeing blisters or sores on her feet after I've taken off a new pair. The shoe also has to be convenient, meaning velcro and not a bunch of laces because they constantly have to be put back on because she takes them off. The P.E. therapist prefers certain styles, and I've payed a pretty penny on Converse shoes, but those don't work for me on a daily basis. In fact, I would typically pack those in her backpack and tell the teacher to put them on for therapy. Again, I need to pick my battles here and fighting to put shoes on first thing in the morning is definitely not one of them.

I finally got the health form signed by the pediatrician stating that Raquel has nut allergies and needs to have the Epi-Pen at the school nurse's office. Why that took 4 days, no idea. Then her new teacher got sick and then had an IEP and I didn't feel comfortable putting her into her class with an unknown substitute. The teacher didn't like that idea either. So today was going to be her first day back to school ... until the missing shoe came in to play. By the time I was done searching, her class had already started, I was beyond irritated on top of not feeling well in the first place, and Mike just had to get to work.

By no means do I want you to think that my girl is shoe deprived. I would never allow that, being the shoe freak that I am. She has plenty - just ones that aren't suitable to wear to school in a new environment and walking around unfamiliar things. We prefer to have her barefoot to prevent her tripping and we introduce new shoes gradually, but this is not an option in class.

Tomorrow, she will start her new class - in an old pair that I'm not real happy about - and then I will continue to search for some new ones. It's always something, I guess...