Sock Battles

There is an ongoing battle with Micah that I am losing despite heroic efforts on my part…he only wants to wear socks that have holes in them. It is not due to the fact that most of his socks have holes, in fact he has an entire drawer dedicated exclusively to socks most of them hole-less. The reality is that he has more socks than anyone else in the family, perhaps more than anyone else in town, but he rejects most of them, seeking out the ones he prefers to wear from the piles of sock options he has.

Recently Micah’s aide, Melody, suggested a new type of sock that has a life time warranty because she had noted that Micah often wears holey socks and she was trying to be helpful. I told her that I would be happy to buy him some (despite the hefty price for one pair) but my concern was that if he did not like them, he would not wear them. I realized I should have told her long ago about our sock battles as she may have been under the impression he was wearing socks with holes because he needed new socks. I reminded her that he does not like new clothes and often takes off the socks that I have put out for him to wear and hides them in various places such as his laundry basket or under his bed etc, then digs out a pair that he prefers to wear. He is super careful to make the switch in the brief moments between being fully dresses and ready to leave, waiting for a moment when my focus is elsewhere. Sometimes I catch him mid-switch, and have to decide if the battle is worth it….who cares if he has a couple holes in his socks (besides me)? Well, I now know Melody cares and I think Micah’s feet care especially if he is out walking and his toes poke through his socks and get raw and red from the chaffing.

So, I ordered the Darn Tough socks from Vermont that Melody suggested, thinking that if he is willing to wear them, his feet will be happier and he will not look like his family cannot provide decent socks for him. The socks arrived quickly and are indeed very well made. They have the impressive warranty of life- time replacement for ordinary use which is unheard of in products of any type these days. The first day I introduced the socks, I tried talking up their quality, telling Micah how much better his feet would feel etc. That tactic was not successful as he quickly changed them just before he left for the day. Not to be deterred I next implemented the sneak introduction by waiting until just before he left to have him put his new socks and shoes on so he would have no opportunity to swap them out before he headed out for the day. That tactic was successful and Melody even noticed that I had bought the high quality socks. I felt I had earned the good mother award until the socks disappeared shortly after he came home at the end of the day. Asking Micah where they were and searching for them proved futile.

Not to be deterred I ordered another pair while I continued the search for the hiding spot of his life-time warranty socks. The new pair arrived quickly, just about the time I finally located his first pair hidden sneakily in his sock drawer. Now we have two pairs to battle over and I am coming to the conclusion that, in Micah’s case, these wonderful socks may last two life-time guarantees as they spend such a short amount of time on his feet! But I have not surrendered the battle as he does start to like some new clothing items over time if he will actually allow them on his body, so I am hopeful that his comfy new socks will someday be on his list of beloved clothing. Meanwhile the battle continues at least until sandal weather when neither of us will be concerned about what socks he chooses to wear. Micah is probably counting the days.

Jan Lessard Peightell May 17, 2023