Today as I worked from home, I observed my husband, Ric's, socks. He was listening to a Ted Talk from our shared office. Since our backs face each other in our dining room turned into home office, I couldn't help but notice. Prior to COVID 19, Ric worked from home. But me? I was a road warrior, traveling the majority of the time due to my role as a healthcare software trainer.
Ric's shoeless feet tell me a lot. First, that he likes to wear black or blue dressy socks while he's working. But I think they also speak volumes about other things.
For instance, they say how much he cares about footwear or how much he might spend on socks. They also demonstrate how long he has had them. Socks can say way more about a person than one would think.
Years ago a thought popped into my head about men and how they dress. I wondered if their wives or girlfriends gave opinions before allowing their significant others to walk out of the house. I also wondered if any women out there actually pick out clothes for their men to wear.
I mean, I know as a woman I usually ask Ric how I look and if it's appropriate for my final destination, but he never decides what I wear. In past years, I tended to dress just a bit too racy so I can't be too careful before leaving the house.
For example, years ago I remember going to my son's baseball game when he was in high school. When I told him I had plans to attend he said, "Mom, could you wear something just a bit more conservative than normal?" I had to laugh, wondering what prompted such a comment while knowing full well there must have been at least one good reason.
My husband has a very casual style as do I. We live in Colorado, after all. Both of us feel more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts than anything else. We even wear jeans to church. But I started to think today about what others would think about Ric's wife if they could see his socks.
As I looked at them, I thought I saw holes, but I was mistaken. The heels of his socks were worn, however, just about to give birth to full-on holes.
I glanced at the rest of him: he had on a long sleeve Under Armor shirt that I paid full price for in Chicago three years ago. It is a beautiful shade of blue that shows off his eyes. He had a nice pair of jeans on from JC Penney that I helped him pick out a while back. Everything looked perfect.
Except for those socks.
I then made a mental note to myself: I must buy him some new socks; some that speak louder about who he is than the ones he is wearing now. They needed to match the rest of him.
More importantly, though, he deserves socks that demonstrate how much he is loved and adored by his wife. Just in case there is someone out there who is wondering...