After sorting through the clothes, I found a pair of my son’s cotton slippers, which were made by my mother a few years ago. At that time, my mother made two pairs, one for her son and the other for me. Because I am afraid of the cold, cotton slippers are a must even in a heated room. My son was lively and active and couldn't wear it, so I put it away. After a long time, I actually forgot where he put it.
There are actually several pairs of slippers at home, but during those two years I always wore cotton slippers made by my mother. My mother is getting older, idle at home, and has long winters. She no longer collects soles and makes shoes for the family under the kerosene lamp like she used to do. She only occasionally makes one or two pairs when she is free. The shopping mall has a dazzling array of products, and there is almost nothing that cannot be bought. In my mother's words, the shoes she bought were just like-looking, not very durable, and the soles were rubber, hard and had a pungent smell. The ones she made herself were affordable and warm.
Growing up, I have worn countless pairs of shoes made by my mother. I believe everyone grew up wearing shoes made by their mother. Materials were scarce at that time, and most of the food and clothing needed to be made at home. Most of the clothes, hats and shoes were made by every mother.
The production of cloth shoes is very tedious. From beating the paste to make shoe clips, inserting the soles, and making the uppers, it is time-consuming and laborious. It not only tests one's endurance, but also shows the ingenuity of a woman in charge of the house. With clumsiness. I have witnessed my mother's process of making shoes for more than ten years, and I understand every process by heart.
In my childhood memories, every time the cold winter comes, my unemployed mother will always hold a shoe sole in her hand in her free time. Sometimes it is alone, and more often it is several aunts of the same age. They got together, chatted about household chores, and finished pairs of exquisite shoes under their hands. The long winter was coming to an end in a blink of an eye, and the New Year was just around the corner. Both single shoes and cotton-padded shoes are so beautiful. There are ordinary cloth-covered ones and suede-covered ones. Children's shoes are more thoughtful. I remember my mother once made me a pair of red suede-covered cotton shoes. I love beauty and like them every day. Gonna give it a try. I got started on the first day of the new year, and I felt extremely proud at that time.
Shoes are a New Year's gift for every family member. Everyone wears them to start the new year. Day after day, year after year!
The winter nights in my childhood were long and cold. Whenever I woke up, with my sleepy eyes open, I could vaguely see my mother sewing clothes and shoes for us by the oil lamp. The mother's figure is reflected for a long time without lights, making people feel solid and warm. I fell asleep again in a daze, unaware of how many days my mother had been working. When I woke up again, it was already dawn outside. The mother was busy preparing the family's breakfast in the kitchen.
Later, electric lights replaced the dim oil lamps, and my mother could finally take care of everything at home calmly under the bright lights. Later, various kinds of shoes began to appear on the market, which were beautiful and fashionable, and mothers were liberated. But their hard-working hands are not so easy to regain their tenderness and whiteness. Of the mothers of that generation, who worked hard and worked hard without complaining, how many of them could be pampered?
I once paid attention to my mother’s hands. Because she had been doing housework inside and outside all year round, her hands were rough and hard, incomparable with those green-white jade hands in poetry books. But it is such a pair of hands that holds up the life of a family and makes the family's livelihood warm and secure.
I grew up wearing shoes made by my mother. I wore them to run and play in the fields. I wore them to walk into the classroom, out of the village, towards the county town, and towards the outside world. This walk has continued until now, when those exquisite and beautiful leather shoes and sneakers have replaced my mother's cloth shoes, and the years have quietly climbed up my mother's forehead and dyed her temples white. Although we don’t want to admit it in our hearts, time has not let us all go. Mother, I am old!
When my mother made this pair of shoes, her eyes were dazzled and she had difficulty even threading the needle and thread, but she made several pairs of slippers one after another.
Times are changing and time is passing, but family love remains unchanged. Mother always has her children in her heart, and she can’t wait to give us everything she has. Handmade cloth shoes are a symbol of that era. Nowadays, no one has the patience to spend time and effort to make them. Although there are various kinds of cloth shoes with beautiful and exquisite uppers in the mall, the bottoms are rubber soles with a strong pungent smell. The feeling of wearing it is also completely different, and I can't wear it as warmly as before.
When walking on the hard road in the city, the shoes on your feet are also made of various soft and hard leathers that match it.
I think of the song "My favorite shoes are my mother's thousand-layer soles." Although I no longer wear my mother's cloth shoes, I know that no matter how the shoes on my feet change, I can never walk out. Mother’s sight and concern...