That wasn't actually what I went into the store for. I had been folding and putting away clean clothes at my daughter's house, when I noticed that our Little Skiier had managed to fray the cuffs on his new ski suit. That was our fault, of course! We had wanted the suit to be big enough for the rest of this season plus all of next season... so it was a bit long, and I guess the hems dragged and got frayed. Thus the trip to the nearest shopping center, to get some trim to sew around the hems of the pantlegs and make it all new again.

And of course, right next to the sewing notions store (Jo-Ann's), there was a Marshall's, so I thought I'd take a peek and see what they had.

Of course, the fact that the grandkids' feet grow like weeds and they grow out of shoes faster than they can wear them out, was in the back of my mind. And of course, they outgrow the socks, too. (Right now the 5-year-old's sock draw is full of socks which probably fit little brother better than they do him.) So... it was a couple of pairs of new shoes and a dozen or so pairs of socks for Big Brother (after all, you get really good buys at Marshall's!)

But you really aren't going to get Big Brother something without getting Little Brother something, too. So, there was a pair of new shoes for Little Brother and a few pairs of socks for him, too. Not that he needs them, because he will inherit Big Brother's entire sock drawer now, but little brothers need to know that they matter as much as big brothers, and besides, they had some really cute socks in his size!!

Hopefully they will both enjoy opening the packages (I plan to wrap them up as Un-Birthday presents, because kids enjoy opening presents), and hopefully, too, Little Brother won't be counting the number of items in each package... :)

As for Grandma, a lot of Joy. The Joy of having little ones still in my life. The anticipated Joy of seeing the excited look on their faces as they open their packages. The remembered Joy of New Shoes from when I was a little girl, hoping my grandchildren will still experience the same feeling. The Joy of being able to provide something needed, something useful, something nice for my little guys. The memories of when my own kids were small and I would sometimes place new clothes on their beds as a surprise for them when they came home from school. The sweetness of small, sturdy shoes and bright, comfy socks. So much Joy from those little Shoes and Socks. And all because I'm lucky enough to be a Grandma!!!!