Help Wanted

We had some trouble getting ready for church this morning, and it wasn't because Coach is out of town. It wasn't because we woke up late or couldn't decide what to eat for breakfast either. It was because of prunies. Yes, Princess had prunies in her shoe.

Princess got ready in record time today, and even let me brush her hair (usually Coach does the brushing, per Princess's request, because he is the "champion hair brusher" and doesn't pull her hair). But when we put on her pretty white sandals, the ones with fake jewels on the straps, she immediately took offense and quickly ripped the left one off. "There's prunies in my shoe! There's prunies in my shoe!" She was yelling, not so calmly. "Prickly things?" I asked her. No, she assured me. It was prunies. The dreaded prunies. I, being a good and conscientious mother, took the sandal and looked in the middle, on the bottom, on the top, to look for these mysterious prunies. Nevermind that I had no idea what she was talking about, or had any clue what a prunie was. All I knew was that they were causing her left foot serious distress. After finding nothing anywhere on or in the sandal that I figured could have caused the panic, I told her there were no prunies on the shoe, but when I tried to put the sandal back on, she would not allow me to do so. So, in a moment of parental genius (or maybe sheer hope, because it was nearing time to leave for church) I took the sandal, brushed all parts of it, inside and out, with my hand, and shook it vigorously before attempt #2 to put it on her foot again. This time, she allowed me to slide it on with ease. "Thank you mommy," she said simply. So, I congratulate myself, but there is that lingering question: what is a prunie? Has anyone else ever had trouble with prunies? Are there other remedies for this problem? I still have absolutely no idea what those irritating foot prunies are. All I know is that if you've got prunies in your shoes, don't try to put them on.