Do Your Shoes Come Untied Often?

Even when I exclude the times when my youngest kids, Myra and Spencer, untie them because they think it is fun, I seem to have suffered from an inordinate amount of untied shoelaces.

It hasn't mattered which shoes I am wearing or what activity I am involved in.  They just come loose at least once during the day.

So as a problem solver, I decided to start double-knotting them.  This immediately resolved the issue of the shoes coming untied, but it created a different problem: it takes too long to remove my shoes when I actually want them off.  I prefer to be able to take my shoes off quickly, especially lately when I am switching shoes in order to work in the yard.  (Side note: I feel like Mister Rogers EVERY time I sit down with the specific intent of simply changing my shoes).

So now ... I'm tying them differently.

A few years ago, this man saw me tying one of my kids' shoes and he felt it necessary to come over and critique my shoelace tying process.  His intent was to help me teach my kids how to get their laces to lay properly on the shoes.  Apparently, the ends of the laces are supposed to rest on your shoes in a parallel direction to the loops you have tied.  Who knew?  And at that moment, who cares?!  I'm not a shoe model or anything so why does it matter?

As it turns out, tying the laces in more of a proper square knot actually keeps laces from randomly becoming untied.  Instead of having the bunny go around the front of the hole before going in, I now make the bunny go behind the hole and then head on home.  This makes a truer square knot and since I have adopted this process I only tie my shoes once per day.  The problem of untied shoes is also neatly resolved.

If you need a visual of this, just ask me sometime.  I have now become that old man who awkwardly feels the need to share his "wisdom" with the uneducated shoelace users of the world.  Mock away.  I don't care.  My laces are not coming undone ... and they look great!


Song Of The Day:
What better song for this feet related post than "Pies Descalzos" by Shakira.  Most folks know her from singles such as Hips Don't Lie or Whenever, Wherever, but I heard her first on a mix tape from my buddy Craig, who was serving his mission in Brazil.  This was the song on that tape which I loved the most, even if I had no idea what it was about.  Turns out, the title means "Bare Feet" and the lyrics to the song are almost as good as the tune itself.

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