Steppin' Up

Today was a big day for Hip Chick!  It was her much-anticipated transition into the next class at daycare.  As mentioned in prior posts, she was held back by a month or two due to all of the concerns surrounding her casting issues, hip redislocation, and regaining mobility.  The teachers in her old class were a critical part of her disposition and development over the past six months and we will all miss them dearly.  

With her move into the next class, new footwear was in order.  Her summer sandals had carried her through the purple spica, blue petrie, and to walk again.  Now, she needs shoes to help her navigate a new playground and a fourth cast.  Oh, if only our shoes could write our autobiographies... what stories and secrets are tucked into their soles and laces!

I treated her to a shopping trip in celebration of the first day in the "big girl" class.  During our drive, I asked what type of shoes she wanted and she immediately repled "pink and sparkly." With a short timeframe left to walk and body casting ahead, I would have bought her polka-dotted shoes decorated with strobe lights and giant pom-poms if they might bring her happiness in the coming months!  We settled on the pair above due to their pink flowers and shimmer. 

As we navigated the mall, I thought I would hold her hand to help steady her gait.  My independent girl would not settle for being carried and insisted she walk, regardless of distance.  Alas, she broke free several times and pushed herself to move as quickly as possible.  She exclaimed to me that she was running, with fireworks ablaze in her eyes.  It reminded me of how, the day she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, she insisted on racing her classmates and was inconsolable when she did not place first... and she did not place last, either!  No one could have foreseen at that moment how the drive which pushed a toddler with a dislocated hip to run faster than her peers would enable all of the amazing things she has accomplished since February 24th.  

I suspect this is a foreshadowed theme for her childhood:  The sensation of losing my grasp as those blazing eyes draw her to the next "watch this" moment.  And I would not have it any other way.