Socks

My thrid bag is full of socks.  Boys' socks, to be exact.  Every pair white {or at least they USED to be white}, although most of them are NOT pairs.  Most of them are loose socks with mates long gone. 

Some are pretty gnarly looking.  They have holes and stains.  They are generally tattered and misshapen.  These are not good looking socks.  I'm not even sure where they will end up.  I can't imagine that even the Thrift Shop would be able to use these socks. 

My grandsons {Mac Attack and Boy Wonder} are the former wearers of the socks.  I wonder how many pairs of socks I've purchased for them over the years?  They spend a great deal of time with me and I have had the luxury of being able to just keep clothes for them at my house.  I started with newborn clothes and have graduated over the the years to having about the largest size they make for boys.  And the shoes! Oh, my goodness!! The shoes we bought for Confirmation last month were each in men's sizes.  MENS's I tell ya! Boy Wonder wears a men's size 8.  Rocket Man wears a size 9.  I am not ready to have a husband and grandsons who could share socks and shoes.

 Its just wrong.

Here's the deal about the socks.  It hits me hard when I realize that I haven't paid attention and am handing them socks that are 2 sizes too small for their feet.  I guess there is a part that just doesn't want to admit that one of them will be 13 in a few days.  How in the world did I end up with a 13 year old grandson?  Can I just shove his foot into a smaller sock and pretend like he's not entering that twilight zone of adolescence?  Probably not.

The socks tell me that I need to pay attention.  Live in the moment and watch these boys grow.  Don't put things off, becasue I know...I know from experience...that when I blink they will be gone.  I need to make a better effort to stop what I'm doing and listen.  To hear the silly joke.  To try to understand the intricate detail of AR books.  To be thankful each time Boy Wonder comes and crawls into the bed with us early on a Sunday morning, because he will soon become a sleeping giant I have to wake.   To fully appreciate the things that Mac Attack collects, because it is just what he does.  He collects things.  And help him begin to realize that you can't keep everything.  Some things have to go in the bags.

So as I ponder what to do with this bag full of mismatched, outgrown, full-of-holes socks, I will also ponder the wonder of my granchildren, tuck bits and pieces of memories and cherished moments away in my heart to keep forever,  and be thankful for the front row seat I have in their lives.  Still not sure what to do with the bag of socks, though.

~Mollianne