So there's more to me than the polyvagal theory and, um, mental health.

I mean, I love doing this stuff, but there's, there's

more to me, I'm, I'm a dad.

I have a 16-year-old daughter who now has a driver's license and a 10-year-old son.

And I actually want to share a little story about him and the lesson that I

got, uh, from it or from the lesson that he, uh, inadvertently bestowed upon me.

I'm Justin, sincere, by the way, welcome to Stuck Not Broken.

If you're new here, I'm a therapist and coach and usually

like to teach about stuff.

But, uh, miss time, I wanted to reflect on a little story and

then give you a lesson at the end.

Um, he loves being barefoot.

The kid does not wear socks.

Um, even if the house is cold, the floor is cold.

He doesn't care.

He doesn't even seem to notice.

If you're a parent, tell me i'm not alone in this.

My, my son does not like to wear socks.

It's been raining here in Stockton, beautiful.

Stockton, California.

We've had Har and that's how I say that, ironically, or not ironically.

What's, what's the word?

Um.

It's not ironically, I forget the word for it anyhow, it's been raining here

in, in beautiful Stockton, California.

Uh, we've had hardly a clear sky in what seems like at least a, a month or so.

Yeah.

And it's been facetiously, I say it facetiously.

It's been cold here.

It's been rainy and cold.

It's been cloudy.

So obviously that's, that's sock weather, right?

For anybody else?

Yeah.

It is sock weather, but no, not for my wonderful 10-year-old son.

We had chores to do so my wife and I both implored him to put on socks

before we go out, but he declined.

In fact, not only did he not wear socks, but he slipped his little feet

into sandals and we just about died.

I swear as I think about it now, I'm just about dying as well.

Wise parents picked their battles and this one was not worth it.

So we wished them good luck and we headed out to do our errands.

The natural consequence of chilly fee is probably more effective than

artificial parent ones anyways.

Right.

So that was, that was our thinking.

We'd been out for a while.

We had completed our target and our Safeway stops, and then we got

outta the car for our sprout Stop.

For some reason we do three or four shopping stops every weekend, I swear.

And, and then we forget something and we go back or we make a

midweek stop and I say, we, but really I make the midweek stop.

So as we walked across the parking lot, I asked, Hey, how are your feet doing?

'cause he was in his sandals on a very cold day, and without missing

a single beat, he said, great.

Really?

I said to him, I asked him, uh, doubtfully.

Really?

Yeah.

He said, yeah, I love it.

I can feel the air flowing between my toes.

You should try it.

He recommended I try, uh, going sockless on a cold day, and I, I

said, I, I think I'll pass son.

And so he says to me, in return, "it's really mindful and I know you

love mindfulness." I think he said it in kind of a snide manner for sure.

But, um, he was serious too, and I don't think he was wrong.

That's the thing.

I don't think he was wrong.

So what did I learn?

Uh, I learned a few things.

As my dogs bark in the background, I learned that he and my

daughter, uh, they know what he needs or he knows what he needs.

And he can make informed decisions.

Of course, my wife and I will keep ensuring that he's headed the right

general direction in life, but he could decide on socks or not, it would seem.

And uh, another thing is mindfulness shows up differently for everybody.

I won't go sockless in the cold anytime soon, but I'm glad that he can

mindfully connect with that experience.

Uh, he did the same thing today too, actually, but with

shoes instead of sandals, so.

Whatever.

It's obviously not a worth a battle, worth picking, and he likes it, so whatever.

I can actually relate to his socklessness in my own way.

Every morning I open the bathroom window when I shower, it lets in the cold morning

air and it just kind of feels right.

I love looking out the window at the oranges and the grapefruits

growing in the backyard, and I like feeling the airs chill in

contrast to the heat of the water.

So to wrap it up, I don't know if this is relevant to you and

your life to your listener, uh, but can you relate in some way?

Do you have your own Sockless mindfulness practice?

If you're on YouTube, please leave a comment in the well in the comments.

And if you're a podcast listener audio only, feel free to email

me- uh, justin lmf t@gmail.com.

But I know it's gonna take you a couple more steps, but I'd love to

hear from you, dear listener, no matter what medium you're listening through.