I stood there in the laundry room, folding clothes and piling all the socks into a basket, before matching them together.
My mind wandered,like it always does but this time….it felt different.
These socks seemed to represent relationships. Matching up the obvious patterns was easy. There was only 2 red knee high socks in the pile.
Pulling the black and white stripes together was easy.too, because they stood out with the hot pink hearts on the side.
My son’s big socks seemed to almost roll up in a ball together as did my other son’s thick boot socks.
But then I was left with this pile of socks that didn’t match up quite so easily..There were a few tiny baby boy socks, a couple of lace trimmed ankles socks that belonged to my little Riven and a big pile of white and black “no show” socks. Some had a tiny line of color edging the cuff, some had the brand name on the sole, some were just plain, solid….rather ordinary.
I matched those together…but there was still a pile of about 10 or 11 single socks that didn’t match up or belong with any of others. Maybe the mate was in another pile, maybe it was lost, maybe it had been worn out and thrown away.
Maybe it’ll show up someday..so I put all the “extras” back into the basket and I wait, fully expecting to match up the socks sooner or later.
But for a few minutes, I just stood there, baffled by the tears that slid down my face.
You see,socks are like relationships…and we need socks,just the way need people.
We love the way new socks feel on our feet- fresh, soft, comfortable, and clean, without stains,snags, or worn out spots.
Sometimes we just go buy another package of socks just because it feels so good to pull on bright,new ones instead of the same old socks over and over.
We don’t really think of socks as a luxury item, or a fashion accessory, but we do know which socks make a difference, which ones we prefer wearing and which ones we wear only when there’s no other choice.
Isn’t that how it is with relationships? I mean, some of us just match up so quickly; with hardly any effort. It seems like it’s always an easy rapport, and a good fit.
Then there’s those relationships that we tolerate- like the itchy socks that we wear when nothing else is clean- because we feel like we have no choice.
There’s also the relationships that we hold on to, like a missing sock; hoping that eventually things will work out, that waiting will pay off and that it’ll be back the way it used to be.
There’s the “extra” relationships,too…the client that becomes a trusted friend, the co-worker that you confide in, the training buddy that has never been to your house but knows how much you weight and every measurement you’ve taken.
Those are the people that share bites and pieces of your life. There’s. lines that don’t get crossed while others become blurred.
Finally, we have the ones with the snags, the loose threads, the worn spots.
These are old. cherished and dependable relationships that sometimes just get overlooked. We take them for granted, pushing them to the back of the drawer…out of sight and out of mind.
Long ago, women would have bleached and darned socks but these days, it’s easier to just go on and get new ones.
It makes me wonder…and it makes my feet long for fuzzy warm socks…unless.of course. I can have warm hands hold them first.
Jeanna' Soul 