Dusty Feet

The thing about living in the Outback is that there is a lot of dust.  Another thing is that wearing shoes is not expected.  People walk around town, even in the shops, with bare feet.  Seeing people walk through the grocery store with bare feet does take a little getting used to, but I admit that watching my little ones run around outside in bare feet makes my heart rather happy because somehow it seems to capture exactly what childhood should be.  They come home with dirty feet that mean they were out experiencing their world, breathing in fresh air and feeling the dirt between their toes.  Those dirty feet mean they had a carefree afternoon, but were getting tougher as they bravely ran over the pebbles and rocks that line the streets and yards of our neighborhood.