Unlike last year when Winter decided to enter as a flamboyant dancer in a Carnivale parade, this year she has played the coquettish flirt. I’m not complaining because I enjoy warm weather and become quite sad when the sun skips lowly over the horizon making the days shorter and cooler. To keep warm during the winter months, I sometimes follow the patches of sun around the floor of my living room with my cat.
No matter how warm the thermostat says my house is during Winter I am perpetually cold. It doesn’t matter what I decide to wear each day because I end up covering up my outfit with the same ol’ fleece jacket, sometimes a hat but always my trusty slippers are added. I could probably get by without wearing the fleecey or the hat but there is no chance that socks won’t be on my feet from the earliest part of my day. Alan can begin a cold day with a white tee-shirt and put his socks on later. Nate has to be told as we are leaving the house to put on some socks before putting on his shoes.
In our society, if one decides not to wear socks it isn’t against the law. Although in my lifetime, I have seen some toes that really shouldn’t see the light of day nonetheless be seen by any other human – criminally hideous. Socks are the underwear for feet. Could one go without them a.k.a free bird or in this case free toes? Sure, but I guess it all depends on where an individual is with their comfort level.
It has been in style for women to wear pants with flat shoes and no socks. When I see pictures of this in catalogs for winter fashion, I roll my eyes at the impracticality of this. I’d like to meet the five foot nine inch, 100 pound model that wears a flimsy outfit and isn’t shivering from being chilled to the bone while it's 30 degrees outside. Perhaps numbness sets in and feeling anything isn’t a problem. My body has some natural insulation (cellulite) on it along with layers upon layers of clothing that mimic the neck to toe coverage of the Victorian era and it still seeks more warmth. For me, practicality wins over being stylish. Uh oh! Does that mean I’m getting old?
Recently as I was running errands I noticed a young woman wearing flats with no socks. Outside it was barely 20 degrees and the wind was brutal, challenging any humidity in the air to become snow. Her jutting ankle bones looked as if they need to be hugged by a pair of Uggs or even leg warmers. I wanted to ask her, “Can you feel your feet? I have on thick socks with sneakers and can barely feel mine.” Could you imagine if a stranger walked up to you and asked you about your feet? Obviously I have and pepper spray came to mind. With that, I kept my thoughts to myself but shook my head to show outward disdain.
Aside from wearing socks to keep warm, I CANNOT bear to step on crumbs, lint, dirt, etcetera with my bare feet inside my house. Socks and slippers are precious necessities to protect me from this terrible discomfort. There was a month where I was without slippers because I wore the soles off my old ones. This was a tragedy of epic level. It may correlate as going to a Dunkin’ Donuts and finding out they don’t have any coffee and won’t for a week. Yes, it was that bad. On mornings as I would go into the kitchen to start breakfast, my eyes would nervously dart around the floor spying bits of biscuits, dried rice or, please not kitty litter!!!
Recently I joined a Pilates class. When the instructor said we were going to have to take our socks off, I thought it was the most incredulous statement I had heard this year. I don’t even take my socks off at home except to shower. Why would I take them off anywhere else? Fortunately, I anticipated the no sock command and was able to reconcile myself into doing what she asked by giving myself a pedicure before the class. While we commenced leg lifts, I admiringly looked at my perfectly painted toes. I successfully tricked my brain that a little bit of style actually can trump uncomfortable ambient temperatures.
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