Yes, I’m actually going to blog about socks. I kid you not – I had a realization this morning that has brought me to the conclusion that socks get nowhere near the amount of credit they deserve.

It all started at the fine, rainy hour of 9.30am this morning. Zaphiie has just slowly made her way out of bed, with a lot of immensely required help from her brother, who sat, jumped, danced and rolled on her bed in order to make her get out of it. She will be eternally grateful for his services. After managing to get out of bed, a bleary-eyed trip to the bathroom ensued, the details of which will be skipped in order to ensure the peace of mind of the readers of this blog. After the mundane morning routine of eating, being mental, trying to wash hair in a bathroom sink (not recommended), Zaphiie decided that she was cold, wet, and needed to get dressed.

She nearly managed this feat – but for one thing. In the little box at the bottom of her wardrobe, where her collection of socks lived, there was not one sock. No pairs, either. No socks at all, anywhere in her room. Not on her desk, in her bed, or in any of the mountains of semi-clean clothes.

Now, here is our problem. On a normal day, the average person (surprisingly, Zaphiie as well) would simply grab a pair of socks and think nothing of it. They might be knee high or ankle length, stripy or plain, colourful or plain old white. Not exactly an important piece of clothing… or so we thought.

Small as they may be, I’ve come to the conclusion that socks are immeasurably important articles of clothing. Have you tried wearing shoes without socks? Not exactly comfortable, is it. Have you tried walking around a tiled house in the middle of winter, minus your warm socks? I think I might have died of hypothermia, had I not thought to put on my trusty ugg boots. Lifesavers, they are.

And to prove my point further – here’s a story from school last year, when I was briefly awakened to the need for socks.

November 2009, Period three. Gym. The fateful time of day at which we are forced to change out of our school uniforms, and into gym clothes. For those unfamiliar with Australian private schools, we are forced to wear a uniform to school every day. We also have a sport/gym uniform, however we are not allowed to travel to school in this uniform: we must change into it immediately before our gym class, and change back immediately after.

All was well to begin with. I had (for once) successfully remembered all my clothes, and so I changed with no major complications. Only one item of clothing from my normal school uniform remained on my body: my socks. I then continued down the stairs to the gym, to find that for a special day, we would be having gym inside, barefoot, due to some gymnastics routine we had to learn.

Thirty girls took off their shoes and socks, and placed them neatly by the wall. Well, neatly may not be the most accurate description of this arrangement, but I’m sure you understand me.

At the end of the class, thirty girls retrieved their shoes and socks, however, one sock was missing.

“Dude – where the hell is my sock?” said Zaphiie. Actually, what Zaphiie said was quite possibly a good deal more profane. But you get the point.

It wasn’t a big deal. I could get a new sock. However, it did pose a problem. I needed that sock to complete my normal school uniform. I did not have a spare sock with me, and leather school shoes and bare feet do not mix without pain and extreme discomfort. Our charming gym teacher was no help. ‘Just find the sock’, I believe her advice was. Easier said than done.

After ten minutes, it was clear that the sock had disappeared. Or perhaps been stolen by my stalker. Either way, I was minus one sock, and not very happy about this new development. However, I was a very adaptable person, and I just decided I would make do with only one sock.

However, upon going to my next class, I learned that, in my school, you are not allowed to wear only one sock. Apparently, it violates a safety rule. I still don’t understand how this is possible.

To cut a long story short, I had to visit the Principal’s office and get special written permission from her to wear only one sock. It was quite embarassing. Then, at lunch, my friend lent me her spare sock. I still haven’t given it back… Sorry, Eloise!

Now, everything turned out just fine and dandy, but the fact remains that socks are, indeed, highly important articles of clothing. Take care of your socks – wash them with love and care, patch them up if they get holes in them, and make sure they have a nice, clean drawer to live in.

I would also recommend adding socks to your emergency survival packages, and have special spare socks hidden all over your house. You never know when you might need them.