There Was an Old Woman

Most people have heard the nursery rhyme about the old woman and the shoe.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread;

And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Being a child of abuse, I don't care for the whipping line, but beyond that I feel intrigued by this nursery rhyme and the potential stories within its simplicity.

Who is this woman? Where is the father of these children? Why a shoe?

And on and on the questions go.

But you know what, there are some things I take away from this. Women are amazing. Women will find a way. Even when there seems to be no solution and the men in their lives have let them down... women will make the vulnerable people for whom they care a priority and will find a way.

So, maybe it's a shoe because she found it discarded and used her creative problem solving to make it work. Maybe it was stinky or horrible, but she cleaned it up and made it home. For whatever reason, she didn't have bread, but she made sure the children got something to eat. She may not have felt like she knew what to do, but she dug deep and found a way.

For the series of fairytale shoes I am creating, I have painted a representation of this creative little home.

The door opens and closes, too!