I always loved being barefoot as a child. Feeling the dirt and grass between my toes seemed like a luxury after my feet had been crammed into shoes all day.
But I had a choice.
Millions of children all over the world do not have a choice to be barefoot. Barefoot is a way of life. And there’s nothing luxurious about it. These children are more susceptible to soil-borne illnesses because of their inability to buy shoes. They cannot go to school because they do not have shoes.
TOMS Shoes asked everyone to spend today barefoot. To go one day without wearing shoes. To start a conversation. To bring to light the troubles of those living in poverty. To educate people about their One to One Movement.
Hannah let people know via Twitter and her blog that she’d be blogging barefoot today. She challenged us to do the same. And because I believe in the power of the interwebs, I signed up.
Today, Joshua and I spent the day barefoot. We had no plans to leave the house as the first part of Spring Break is always the stay-home-and-lounge part of the week for me.
So what did we do? We went outside. Barefoot.
At first, Joshua was hesitant. He walked through the garage, box of sidewalk chalk in hand, and stopped when he reached the end of the concrete floor. Slowly, step-by-step, he navigated the length of our driveway growing more confident with every step.
Soon we were enjoying the beauty of the day in the middle of our cul-de-sac, happily sidewalk chalking the time away.
We probably spent half an hour or so just running and playing and exploring the world outside our house.
Joshua loves to be outside and would happily spend hours wandering from driveway to driveway to find new things.
To be honest, I feel like we didn’t do enough. We had no plans to leave the house and do anything today. This was easy for us compared to what some people live with every day.
This experience makes me want to do more.
Aside from making me want to run out and buy a pair of TOMS shoes (or three), it’s made me, yet again, even more aware of how lucky my life is. How blessed I am. Even when I feel like I’m not. Which I suppose was the point.
Hannah @ Peggy Ann Design
Tuesday 5th of April 2011
i felt like i didn't do enough too. like maybe i should have found something really challenging to do while barefoot. BUT its all about awareness, right? and sometimes are blogs are pretty good about reaching people! PS - I LOVE that you got your little man involved!!
Miranda
Tuesday 5th of April 2011
As we were going down the driveway I kept thinking "OMG it's chilly out here! Please don't let him catch a cold!" and scolding myself. But then I thought, "this is 30 minutes of his life that he'll be outside without shoes and those kids go for their entire lives without shoes. I'm overreacting something major." And down the driveway we went. If I was barefoot, so was he.
And yes, it IS all about raising awareness. So I hope I've at least done a little bit of that.
Alena
Tuesday 5th of April 2011
We need to have Toms. Can we say it's for a good cause and BlogHer? Like put it on the "I need list" so that we can make sure we actually buy a pair?!
Miranda
Tuesday 5th of April 2011
I have already thought of how cute they'd be in olive. Or perhaps black. Or maybe navy.
I feel an obsession coming on. Good thing I have no money to fulfill this obsession or my husband may make me sleep on the couch.