At our house, it’s time to buy new shoes.
Three new pairs of winter boots, rain boots and new indoor shoes for school.

We should manage to make it to Spring with these.  And then we will go shopping again, this time for sandals and running shoes.

New shoes are like new notebooks and backpacks. Fresh starts along the road of childhood. Buying them is not their favorite thing to do.  They hate the decision making, the trying on.  And they especially don’t like leaving behind the old, comfy ones.  The shoes they’ve colored on. The ones finally the right shade of grass-stain and mud. Sure they are a little tight, and torn, but they feel worn in.

New shoes are always a little too white. They just haven’t been anywhere yet.

One of the things I love about being an adult is not growing out of my shoes. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE buying new shoes, but there is something about them that is without memory or romance. New shoes need to grow on you.

I have favorite pairs of shoes. Uggs I’ve resoled three times, Birkenstock clogs I only wear at home (shhhhh), Jimmy Choo heels that make me strut. I have more shoes than I need, and more than anyone really should.

Shoes take you places.  We dance in them. Run in them.  Shoes are hard to share, once we’ve worn them in, they are very much our own.

This week a special pair of shoes, the boots of Canadian Nigel Fisher, the current Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Haiti will be inducted to the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. His boots have travelled over 100,000 km through some of the most dangerous, remote and devastated parts of the developing world to deliver life-saving vaccines and supplies to children in need.

If Nigel’s boots could talk, they would tell you an amazing story. His boots have touched the lives of millions of children. They belong to a man who has dedicated his life to children and the work of UNICEF.

If you don’t know about UNICEF, here is a little info for you.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the world’s leading child-focused humanitarian and development agency. As a member of the UN, UNICEF is active in more countries and saves more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization. UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps all children, regardless of race, religion or politics. Undaunted by war, disaster, disease and logistical complexity, UNICEF takes on the fight for child survival wherever it leads. They reach the poorest, most vulnerable children in the world’s most inaccessible places, bringing them simple, life-saving essentials like vaccines and clean water.

UNICEF also is the place to find the only thing I ask for this (or any) holiday season. Ya know, if you want to buy me a gift

When we chose new shoes this week, the kids and I spent some time talking about Nigel and all the places his boots had been. We spoke about where their shoes were going to take them.  Into a new winter, new challenges and some old ones, and into new years as they turn 11, 9 and 7.

What kind of footsteps would these new shoes leave?  Helping footsteps, leaps and jumps for joy, dragging slow walks…

UNICEF is running an amazing campaign as they share the story of Nigel’s boots that I would love for you to check out here. For every new person who registers their email on unicef.ca, BD-Canada will donate a tetanus vaccine to a child in need.  I can’t think of a better reason to share your email, than to help a child in need.  Think of it as a first new step in your shoes.

Do you have a favourite pair of shoes or a story about where your shoes have been? I’d love if you would share them.

These are Nigel’s boots, and they save children’s lives. What do your shoes do?