Untied

Yesterday afternoon, I learned that I have been tying my shoes incorrectly! Maybe many of you have already heard about the correct way to tie your shoelaces, but I was completely clueless. How did I find out about this life-changing information, you ask? Well, I watched this (short) original TED video on Netflix, given by Terry Moore, from 2005:

After I picked up my kids from school, I had my entire little family watch the video too. We actually had to watch it several times to make sure we were doing it correctly. We also figured out some pretty interesting things about ourselves. Read on! :)

1. My daughter and I have been tying our shoes incorrectly, but my husband and youngest son have been tying them correctly. I said to Greg, "Good job! Your parents weren't dorks!" Ha ha. Just kidding! I just find it fascinating that some families got the shoelace tying right from the beginning, while others got it wrong. (Or, maybe it was just me?!)
2. Even more interesting was the fact that even though I'm right handed, I've been tying my shoes left-handed because my mother is left-handed! So intriguing, right?!
3. Additionally, even though my daughter and I have been tying our shoes incorrectly, we've also been mirror images of each other! I have no idea how this happened??? I fully would have expected her to tie her shoes exactly like me - you know, like how I copied my left-handed mother exactly. Maybe this means my daughter will be a strong individual? Maybe it also means that I'm reading way too much into a shoelace tying experiment. ;)
4. We discovered that my youngest son has been doing his initial start of the shoe-tie backwards, so when he creates the loop the way Mr. Moore does on his first try (where it's wrong), the overall effect is actually correct! Say what?! I seriously don't know how our son chose to change the way he ties his shoelaces from what Greg and I taught him. What a fortuitous mistake he made! :)
5. My oldest son wanted nothing to do with our little family shoelace tying experiment. He just shook his head at us and happily went back to eating his Peanut M&Ms and watching his tablet. This shows me that he's officially in the, "My parents are lame." mode of teenagerhood. I'm pretty sure teenagerhood isn't a legitimate word, but I'm using it anyway. Hey, if Dr. Seuss can make up words, so can I! Ha ha.

Yep, fascinating.

After our family shoelace tying experiment was complete, Greg said to me, "That's it. I'm going to back to Velcro shoes." I laughed and said, "Just like an old man!"

*I mean no disrespect to the older generation with my comment, for I know we'll be a part of that classification in just a few short decades! It was just super funny to think of my hot, Nike-basketball-shoe-wearing husband reverting to big Velcro-fastened sneakers! ;) See his shoes below for effect. Yes, I created this lovely photo all by me'self! (Sorry, I don't mean to brag, I just really really love it!)

I know our family experiment yesterday made an impact on my children, because during the car ride to school this morning, my daughter very happily told me, "Mom, my tennis shoes are tied nice and tight - the right way!" Yes, folks, it's the little things that matter so much. :)

I sincerely hope everyone can save themselves the hassle of retying or double-knotting their shoes throughout the day, for I know Terry Moore's short three-minute video has changed my life for the better!

Also, I'm very happy this TED video initiated such a fun discussion between the members of my little family - it's something we'll remember forever! Thank you, Mr. Moore!!!