Illustration by Crowmama

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“Vincent, can you please tie my shoe?”

“Of course, Leah.” He helped the four-year-old hop up onto the bench, then crouched in front of her. Frayed laces dangled from a mud-stained sneaker as she stuck out her foot and wiggled it back and forth.

“Leah, you need to hold your foot still.”

Her blonde curls bounced in rhythm with her nodding head. “Sorry, Vincent! I promise!”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He smiled at her. “Just try not to move your foot for a minute.”

Leah’s toothy grin broadcast her delight at having won the attention of every child’s favorite person. Determined to keep it, along with her promise, she held her outstretched foot nearly motionless.

Not to be left out, several other children clambered onto the bench, while the rest gathered around Vincent.

Who would have guessed shoe-tying could be such a crowd pleaser? This was one of those teachable moments, and Vincent knew he couldn’t waste it.

“Children, someday you’ll need to know how to do this for yourselves, so I want you to watch very closely while I tie Leah’s shoe.”

Every child immediately leaned forward and focused their gaze inches from Leah’s foot.

Vincent smiled, quickly correcting his error in ‘preschooler speak.’ “Not that close. Everyone needs to move back a little. Otherwise, I can only see the tops of your heads.”

Timothy’s wispy blond hair tickled Vincent’s nose as the little boy scooted just a smidge to the left, clearly unwilling to budge further. After all, as Leah’s twin, he was entitled to the best viewing spot.

“Is everyone ready?” Vincent waited for multiple ‘yeses’ to subside. “Now watch carefully.”

As he began the shoe-tying process, he explained the initial step. “First, take one lace in each hand.” He demonstrated the procedure, then continued, “Next, cross one lace over the other.” He glanced at his audience, noticing that several children were imitating his hand movements. He smiled in satisfaction. “Now –”

“Vincent, I like your fingernails.” He looked up at Gemma’s smiling face. “They’re long.”

“Very long!” Sakura, her best-friend-of-the-moment, verified.

The children leaned in again for a closer look.

“Yes, they are long,” Vincent replied. “Now watch what I do next with the laces. And please take one step back again.”

Quinn tapped Vincent’s hand. “You could paint them pretty colors. That would be nice.”

“Very nice!” Leah clapped her hands. “I like pretty colors!”

Javier snickered and rolled his eyes. “Boys don’t paint colors on their fingernails!”

“They can if they want to!” Gemma glared as only a just-turned-four-year-old can, while Leah and Quinn stuck their tongues out at him.

Ignoring them, Javier proclaimed, “And besides, Vincent’s not even a boy!”

Vincent held his breath as the child’s cohorts nodded knowingly.

Javier crossed his arms over his chest, waited for everyone’s complete attention, then proclaimed, “Vincent’s a man!” He grinned at the group, thoroughly pleased with his superior powers of observation.

But Gemma was not about to cede her argument to anyone. “Mans can paint their fingernails pretty colors if they want to!”

“Not mans, men,” Vincent muttered, even though he knew he was losing most of his audience.

Timothy took another careful look at Vincent’s nails and then examined his own small hands. “My fingernails aren’t long. They’re little.” His voice trembled with disappointment at his self-perceived shortcomings.

Leah nearly kicked Vincent in the chin as she squirmed on the bench to get a closer look at her brother’s hands. Then she gazed into Timothy’s tear-filled eyes. “They’d look pretty if we painted colors on them.”

“But we don’t got paint,” Quinn pointed out.

Vincent knew he could be as stubborn as the children. “We don’t have paint.”

Sakura patted Vincent on the head. “Quinn already told us that.”

Vincent winced as he felt his legs – and his patience — start to cramp.

Usually shy and often speechless, Nathaniel was caught up in the group fervor. “I bet Miss Elizabeth got some paint!”

Quinn jumped up and down, narrowly missing Javier’s toes. “And markers and glitter!”

Not quite ready to declare defeat, Vincent raised his voice over the cacophony. “Children, we can talk about this later. Now, please watch me tie Leah’s shoe!”

“I’m gonna paint rainbows on my fingernails!” Gemma yelped. “All different colors!”

Leah opted for her favorite. “I’m gonna make mine pink! With flowers!”

“I’m gonna make mine red,” Timothy yelled, “with stripes!”

“Purple!” Sakura’s shrieks nearly deafened Vincent. “Purple, purple, purple!”

“Just blue,” Nathaniel whispered.

“Bunnies!”

“Kitties!”

“Stars!”

“Sparkly stars!”

“Sparkly squiggly stars!”

Apparently, Javier had reconsidered. “I’m gonna paint spiders on mine! And snakes!” He grinned at the high-pitched squeals from the girls and ear-splitting cheers from the boys.

Vincent sighed and finished tying Leah’s sneaker. He rose to his feet amid a sea of rollicking preschoolers, all waving their hands and scampering in circles.

The lesson was over.

The Lesson ~ Art by Crowmama