The times, they are a'changin'

Yesterday, my whole family decided to enjoy the first major snowstorm of the season and go for a walk. We headed up to Ottawa street, playing in the snow drifts and pelting each other with snowballs. We then ducked into Karen's 4 Kids, as two of the three tykes needed something a little more substantial on their feet.

The kids didn't know what to do when the salesperson lead them to a chair, sat them down and took off their shoes. When he sat on the stool in front of them, cradling their tootsies in that silver foot measurement device, they looked as if they were being strapped into some medieval torture device for some long forgotten offence. Then it dawned on me...

They've never had their feet measured before!

In all the years their parents have been putting footwear on their feet, those shoes and boots have just been pulled down off the department/big box store's shelves and thrown on without a second thought. Then, here was this salesperson, dealing not just in manufactured goods (some actually made in Canada as well!) but also in service, pulling out an assortment of boots for the kids to chose from, trying them on and test-walking around the store. It was an experience that I remember participating in hundreds of times growing up, but have since forgotten as those store owners and shoe salespersons evolved into "sales associates" over the years.

The kids actually had fun shopping for winter boots, once they realized they weren't in trouble.