Taufik and his bright blue boots.

We went shopping some weeks ago at Tesco Lotus. I have been keeping my eyes open for a pair of cheap slippers for Taufik to wear. It would be his first 'adult' slipper. No straps, no velcros, no laces, just plain 'ol slip ons. None were in his size.

While I was bent over, digging around, basically causing a major mess in the children shoes department, (Guiltily, I could feel the heat of the video camera glare, 'another messy customer'). Taufik was doing his own shoe rummaging. He found to his delight some blue and red wellingtons being sold for Baht 49 - an absolute steal.

"Darling, which colour would you like?" I asked him. "The red or the blue?". "Blue mommy!" he shouted, jumping up excitedly. And that's how those lovely bright blue boots ended up being on our shoe rack.

From that day onwards, almost obsessively, Taufik began wearing his bright blue wellies everywhere. To the school, the playgroups, the playground, restaurants, supermarket, just about all the places we went to. People who saw him would stop to smile at him, laughing at his cojones.

Whenever we were getting ready to leave the apartment, he would rush out to the shoe rack and pull out his wellies. "I'magonna wear this. I'magonna wear my boops mommy." he would adamantly say to me. His tone making it plain that there was no room for bargaining.

Oh if only you could see him stomping around in those boots, he looked adorable. He had to walk in a certain way to make sure that he didnt stumble in them - Kim and I fell in love all over again.

When we first bought those boots, I got Taufik to read with me again, a book that we had read together some time ago. It's about a little gosling called Gossie who loved to wear bright red boots.

"Gossie is a gosling. A small yellow gosling, who loves to wear bright red boots. Everyday."

Gossie ate in them, slept in them, played in them, stomped around in them. Inspired, I guess Taufik did the same.

This morning though, I think it is finally official that Taufik has fallen out of love with his bright blue boots. At least for now. Today he abandoned them for the winter shoes he had worn in Denmark. Big, heavy, stompish shoes. He clunked out of the house and into the elevator for school this morning in those shoes. Quite happily too.