"Confessions of a Mom Who Forgot to Teach Shoelaces"

"It was a perfectly ordinary night—tucking my 10-year-old into bed, saying our prayers, and turning out the lights—until he hit me with the bombshell: 'Mom, can you teach me how to tie my shoes?' Wait, WHAT? My brain short-circuited. Did I just hear that right? How did we make it to double digits without teaching him this basic skill?"

As his request sank in, I felt a wave of emotions crash over me: confusion, as I replayed every milestone moment in my head; denial, as I tried to convince myself he was joking; acceptance, as I realized this was real; and, of course, mom-guilt—the kind that settles in your chest like a missed deadline. How did this happen? How did we miss something so seemingly fundamental? The memories flooded back, and it all started to make sense—the pandemic, the slippers, the lack of outings. The shoe-tying window had quietly passed us by.

The very next day, I sprang into action. I dusted off the only pair of sneakers I own, handed him one shoe, and kept the other for myself. “Just copy me,” I told him confidently, even though I couldn’t quite recall that classic shoe-tying rhyme. No matter—we improvised! A crisscross here, a bunny ear there, loop it around and pull it through—ta da! In less than a minute, he nailed it.

And then, to my surprise, the real fun began. For the next 45 minutes, he sat on the carpet, my oversized sneakers firmly on his feet, practicing. A little tighter on this side, a little looser on that—until perfection. It was like watching an artist refine their craft. Honestly, he got it right on the first try, but now he was having the time of his life. Well, that was surprisingly easy.

Parenting is full of unexpected surprises—some messy, some hilarious, all deeply meaningful. The shoelace revelation taught me that it’s never too late to teach something, no matter how small it seems. The truth is, moments like these are a reminder that we’re all just doing our best. Whether it’s tying shoes or tackling life’s big lessons, the real win is showing up and sharing the journey.

So, while I can’t guarantee he’ll remember the quadratic formula in 20 years, I can proudly say this: My kid can tie his own shoes. And that’s a knot worth celebrating. 😊