RIGHT AND WRONG

Although I don’t specifically remember, I am sure it was my mother who taught me to tie my shoelaces. And furthermore, I can’t say for sure that the way I ended up doing it is exactly the way she taught me, but so be it. However, I recently learned I was doing it wrong!

You ladies know that in our childhood once we got to the point where we stopped wearing sturdy shoes, except maybe for tennies and later for Nikes, we didn’t wear shoes that tied. At least that was my experience, so all these many years I have been tying them wrong. It just never occurred to me that there could be a right and a wrong way to tie shoes. The fact that the bow on my shoelaces never laid neatly across my instep was not even in my awareness, until recently.

I saw a video online where a man was demonstrating the right way to tie shoe laces. First he showed the wrong way: the loop was made with the right lace, the left lace was brought over on top and around the loop, tucked under and pulled through to the left and tightened. That was the way my mother taught me (I supposed) and the way I had always done it. This man in no uncertain terms said that was wrong, that the left lace was to be brought UNDER the loop, tucked under and pulled through and tightened. He tied them both ways on the video and in that moment I saw what I had been doing wrong. I tried it on my own shoes – and sure enuf! The man's was right. His way produced bows that went across the instep; my way produced "up and down" bows. WRONG!!!!

Since then, I’ve been tying my shoes correctly except when I forget – which is what happened this morning and which is why I took a picture of my own shoes to show the difference. I put my right shoe on first and forgot to tie it the right way. The second shoe was tied the correct way – and there you are. The difference is clear and is proof positive.

I tell you this so you will at least know as much as I know. I HATE being wrong.

Having said that, I must add that just this week I told Jerry that these shoes, which are relatively new, are not at all comfortable. When I bought them the price was SO right that I couldn’t pass them up. But that was the last time I was pleased with them. They really ever felt good on my feet. He thought I meant they were too small, but although they carried a "9" on them, my normal size, it felt like I was wearing two sizes too big. My mother would have called them “gunboats” – her word for oversized shoes. Looking at this picture, I can see for sure they don’t fit right. Not only have I been tying my shoes wrong but I’m also wearing the wrong size.

So that calls for immediate action. As I said, I HATE to be wrong. I must rectify that wrong and go shoe-shopping ASAP.

Now as for the dramatically colored shoe laces, I say, why not? They bring a smile to my face!