Ryan came home from school today excited. His speech on the current state of health care had gone well. He had spent hours researching and organizing his thoughts on paper. Then there were the hours he spent practicing.

But that’s not what this is about. It’s about socks. As Ryan was explaining the details of his presentation, he was kicking his feet behind him. I glanced at his foot as it came up and noticed that there were five, yes five, holes in his socks…four under his toes, and one on the heel. Photo below.

I’m not sure how I missed those holes as the socks came through the laundry. It may be hard to understand (!), but laundry is not my favorite thing to do. I’ve been known to wash important pieces of paper left in pockets and tissue (used?) that ends up clumped all over my lint screen. But that’s because I don’t do pockets anymore.

And, apparently, I don’t do socks, either. Five is a lot of holes.

“Throw those socks away when you take them off tonight,” I said.

The response I got surprised me. “I can’t throw these out! I paid for them. They belong to me!”

It’s true. Ryan paid for those socks. He gets a clothing allowance twice a year and is responsible for buying everything he needs. He loves the freedom and responsibility that comes with being in charge. I love the freedom from shopping in addition to the lessons he learns in money management.

“But, Ryan,” I started, “There are five holes in those socks. Five.”

“That doesn’t affect me at all,” he said. “There is no problem here.”

I didn’t expect this. Apparently he is totally okay with wearing socks until they no longer have bottoms so that he doesn’t have to spend money on new ones. And me, I’m not okay with that. When your socks wear out, you buy new ones.

I told him I would look for those socks to come through the laundry and throw them away. I plan on taking a close look at all the other socks, too. Then he will need to buy new ones using his clothing allowance. That’s what it’s for. Besides, I know he hasn’t spent all the money.

It left me wondering, though. What are the bottom of his feet going to look like when he moves out. Will his future wife wonder why I didn’t teach him to throw old socks away? And what will be the state of his undies if I don’t get to them first?

I think I may need to call my mother-in-law. My husband may have some ‘splainin’ to do.