A Mystic Aquarium adventure and a tale of 4-inch wedge sandals

Yesterday, Barry and I took our granddaughter, Taylor, on a little birthday outing.  It didn’t seem to matter to Taylor that her 8th birthday happened in JANUARY… and the promised outing came in SEPTEMBER.

Ah… time. It has a way of checking off minutes and days and weeks and months.

But back to Taylor’s special day.  She requested the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, and Barry and I were willing participants on a day devoted especially to our beautiful Taylor.  As it turned out, September is a perfect time to stroll both indoors and outdoors on this most wonderful adventure.  We began at our house, where Taylor asked if we could look at Nana-Flo’s jewelry.  Taylor loves to look at all the pieces that I keep in a special drawer… earrings, watches, bracelets, necklaces that Nana-Flo wore and kept neatly stored in boxes and see-through jewelry storage carriers.  Taylor was particularly enthralled with a pair of clip-on dangling crystal earrings.  Of course I put them on her ears and of course I said “YES” to her request to wear them.  Taylor also picked out two stands of Nana-Flo’s pearls for me to wear.  What could be more wonderful?

And we also wore matching red sparkly bracelets.  I had given her one of these a couple of years ago, and I just happened to have an identical one at home.

The day was perfect.  Our adventure was perfect.  The Mystic Aquarium and all it has to offer was perfect.  Our jewelry was perfect.

But what wasn’t perfect were Taylor’s shoes.  She had on a pair of adorable penny loafers that didn’t seem to like the warm September day on a pair of sockless feet.  As the day wore on, the shoes became obstinate and grouchy, threatening to develop blisters.  Barry, Taylor and I headed to the gift shop to see if we could buy a pair of flip-flops.  No such luck.  She certainly couldn’t go barefooted.  No way.  Then I remembered that I had left a pair of shoes in our car from my trip to New York City with Jane earlier in the week.  But these were New York City shoes.  Donna Karan 4″ wedge sandals.  Long jeans kind-of shoes that peek out seductively from just below the hem.

OK.

For our day at Mystic, I had on a pair of very comfortable Crocs flip-flops, the kind that massage your feet as you walk.  Heavenly.  They looked good with my long cargo shorts… like touristy, comfy good.

Light bulb moment.

Taylor could wear my flip-flops, albeit a bit too big for her.  I could switch into my Donna Karan designer wedge sandals.  Would we look like a little odd couple of ladies in the too-big flip-flops and designer 4″ wedge sandals with cargo shorts.  Yes.  Did I care?  No.  Did Taylor care?  No.  Did her feet care?  Yes.

And so the day went.

Each moment of our special day with our beautiful Taylor (by the way, Taylor told me that I use the word “beautiful” a lot!) was magnificent.  She is so bright and so funny and so adventurous and so friendly and so caring.  Her smile dazzles us… just as bright as Nana-Flo’s crystal earrings in the sunlight.  And I would have gone barefooted myself just to spend this wonderful time with our wonderful girl!

I can’t wait for Taylor’s 9th Birthday Special Day.  Barry and I might just try for January next time!

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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