National Sock Day was declared to celebrate matching socks. The calendar says if a pair can stay together through washing, drying and sorting it is a magical thing and worthy of note. I think it has more to do with the human that takes them off rather than any magic, but I do know some people who need magic to have it happen.

I spent the week helping my daughter pack and move. We found a lot of socks, both hers and more of her 12 year olds, that were “hiding” in some very strange places. (We also found her son’s missing favorite stuffed toy from his younger years. It was nice to hold the little, scruffy thing.) My grandson’s socks, when washed, were not folded, but placed in a pile. William doesn’t do matched socks. It’s his personality statement. He now has enough clean socks to last at least three weeks.

I know a woman who stitches a colored thread on the top edge of her husband’s new  socks after she buys them. A different color for each pair. This way she can match the exact pair after each washing. How did this come about? Her husband wears a uniform so all his socks are the same. He informed her that when the exact pair wasn’t together, he could feel the difference according to how many times they had been worn and washed so she had to figure out a way to keep the same two together. I’ve wondered what his friends would say if they ever saw the pink, green or purple stitch peering from under his pant-leg. I’m sure he would never tell us.

Some people don’t wear any socks. I never understood that. I don’t like my sweaty feet sliding or sticking in my shoes. I want warm, protected feet. When my toes are comfy, most of the rest of me is too. How about you; matched sets, unmatched, or none at all?