Actually knowing how to tie my shoes: Day 2

I can't tell enough people about this phenomenon. You might not know how to tie your shoes correctly. I know this to be true because I am one of those cautionary tales: Until this past Monday I did not know how to tie my shoes correctly.

I'd love to make a quip about how silly it is that I just discovered that I didn't know how to tie my shoes until I reached my 30s, but that joke has been covered by this guy, and he jokes that he is well into his 50s. I think that makes me feel better. Actually, that makes me feel great.

As Ted Moore explains in the video linked above, there are actually two ways to tie your shoes into the traditional bow knot. Although deceptively similar, there is a strong know, and a weak knot. Now, for my part of the tale. Some time in the last five years I fell completely in love with wearing sneakers. I love the comfort, I love the different colors, I love the rebellious stance I'm taking against leaving my childhood behind. There came a problem with my new daily footwear. My sneakers were constantly coming untied.

I had to wear a double knot. Not only did I have to struggle to untie my shoes at the end of the day, or have to slip my foot out lazily only to be forced to slam/cram my feet in the next morning, but it feels a little ridiculous to walk around with double knots stacked on top of the tongue of my shoe. Double knots are like the dental headgear of foot lace accessories.

I actually got to a point where I began to believe there must have been something medically wrong with my feet that caused them to slowly unravel their tender tyings. Thanks to Ted Moore, I now know this is not so. At the end of his talk, he comments that it is amazing what little changes can do to improve our daily lives. I would like to add my testament to his.

One of my personal philosophies is that I'm never too old to learn something new. On Monday, I did just that. Every time I look down at my blue suede Pumas, neatly tied with pretty white bows, a smile crosses my face. I just learned how to tie my shoes.