If The Shoe Fits.....or Is Laying Around

  With 24 feet attached to 12 bodies in the house, shoes become an issue.  I'm not talking about buying them - it's where they end up when everyone comes in.  (And I know this is a different subject altogether, but why is it that little boys come in and out of the same door at least three times more than girls when they play?  Do they lose their way?  What's the deal with that?)

  Back to the shoes...... over the years we've tried numerous plans to address the shoe mountain that inevitably accumulates by the door in large families.  For awhile we had a chore called "shoe deliverer" and that person was responsible for carrying the abandoned shoes to the room they belonged, but just like all of America, nobody was willing to take on that job for the small pay it received.  For quite a few years James has used the "chuck" method to rid the foyer of unwanted footwear.  Whenever he found the left behind shoes he simply opened the front door and chucked them as far as he could into the front yard.  One memorable time the dog, Moose, across the street took one of the shoes back home for a chew toy.  The made for a fun Sunday morning.   Repeat offenders might find their sneakers floating precariously on the surface of the pool. 
  Last week James announced a new shoe policy at our family meeting.  He would be collecting the offending shoes and hiding them in shoe jail.  When the person realizes that their shoes are being held hostage they would be required to pay one dollar to redeem them. 
  Nobody seemed upset about this new training method until James collected $8 yesterday.  
  He has way to much fun with all this.