One of these things is not like the other

WAIT A SECOND!

They are alike, just alike. Yes, Braden is sporting two right shoes. We bought these at Wal-mart a few days ago for $3; there was no tag or any other shoes like these, so they said we could have them for $3. I didn't really pay attention to the shoes, obviously; we only tried one shoe on Braden and called it good. When I got home however I noticed the mistake. For those who don't know, Braden LOVES penny loafers, and so he was very distraught when he outgrew his last pair. In fact, Braden actually continued to try to wear his other ones, though they were waaaaaay too small; when he finally starting getting blisters, he stopped. Just to make sure he wouldn't inflict more pain on his poor feet, trying to get a few more wears out of his precious penny loafers, Rich and I hid them in the attic. We had tried to hide them before, but somehow the little bloodhound always found them; the attic was our last resort. Back to the story, Braden and I were in Wal-mart a couple days ago looking for black dress shoes for him to wear to his Uncle Paul's wedding when he spotted them. I attempted to show other shoes to Braden, but he only had eyes for those black, beautiful penny loafers. So we put them in our cart and headed to the front of the store (after a short visit at the toys, of course). It was the last pair they had, so they decided $3 would be a fair price. I of course am thinking, 'SCORE', little did I know how wrong I was. Anyway we head home, Braden holding his new prized possessions in his lap the whole way, and unload all of the groceries. Braden, understandably, has no time to help; he must get inside and try on his new shoes. After putting on his shoes, Braden always has me do the check, "Are these on the right feet?" So I look, first at the right foot, "Yes, that is right.", and then the left. Right, left, right, left, "Wait a second, something doesn't look right here!" Then it dawns on me; we came home with two right shoes. Boy do I feel foolish; well, they are just going to HAVE to go back, or are they?! I'm thinking, '$3, I can buy some groceries with $3; I'm not keeping shoes he can't even wear!' The sad thing is, he has worn them, every day since we brought them home. I tried to make him see reason, explained that they are two right shoes, and posed the question, "Doesn't that hurt your feet?" I've told him, "We simply can't keep those, you need a right shoe and left shoe." Braden however looks at me unfazed, "I like these shoes Mama; I want to keep them." I of course am also unfazed, "That is nice son, but they are going back to Wal-mart." Then Rich pipes in, "They were ONLY $3." Okay, I guess he can keep them, but don't expect me to let him outside of our house with those things on; I support my children's free expression (believe me, you should see some of the outfits I let them go out in public with: mismatched, inside out and backwards shirts, cowboy boots with shorts, and occasionally backwards pants), but letting your child go out with two right shoes would not bode well for my reputation as a mother. It is one thing to let your child dress themselves and deal with the consequence, it is quite another for others to question your I.Q. when they see that your child has on two right shoes. So, YES, Braden can keep the shoes, but DO NOT expect to see him wearing them out and about, cowboy boots with shorts, YES, but two right shoes,

NO!