Swings and Roundabouts

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Two of my boys have yucky *verruca’s.  Jumping in here with “if anyone has any amazing cures, please, please, please pass them on.  Please!”

So pool socks are necessary.  The first ones I purchased were of the type they pour you into when you are scheduled for a caesarean section.  

Horrible yokes.  The feel of them.  *shudder

Ok, so not quite.  They are more like this.

Just LOOK at the similarities though!

Oldest boy began to complain.  He found it difficult to do that turn around thing swimmers do when they get to the end of their length and do a forward roll in the water and push off against the pool wall.  That one.  Insert correct term here.

I heard him.  Loud and clear.  They were also the absolute devil to get on and off.  Something happens to wet TED socks and they seem to tighten up out of pure spite and take a layer of foot skin off as they’re at it.

If they were any good they would have removed the damn verruca.

Anyway, I managed to find him gorgeous new ones.  Perfect in every way; aesthetically pleasing, easy peasy to get on and comfortable to wear.

These are they.

Then the next fella located a suspicious spot on the sole of his foot.  Egads!

I refused to buy him the same horrible socks his older brother wore.

So I contacted the sports shop the next town over to be told they had no idea what the delay is with this particular item; they had been expecting them for over a week now.

I sent an SOS to my contact in the Big Smoke but they weren’t homebound for a few more weekends so I had to wait.  And contact the sports shop the next town over to be told they still weren’t in.

Imagine my absolute surprise and delight when I spotted them in my local department store.  AND they were two euros cheaper than the sports shop.

Couldn’t. Believe. It.

This shop is not known for its habit of embracing the 21^st century. 

Now.

In the same store I was having Smallest Boy fitted for New Summer Shoes.  They used a tablet to measure his feet. I-swear-to-god.  A tablet.  He got to touch a screen for Jack Nano or Daisy Nano.  Then type in his age.  The tablet slid into the measurey-thing, Jack Nano waved at him and his new shoe size appeared in digital brilliance.

What’s wrong with the old measuring tape?

I selected a nice, summer shoe in his larger size and the lady went off to the store room to find it.

We waited. And waited.  And waited.

She returned to tell me not only was she unable to locate the size I wanted, but the sample shoe was missing in action too.

Smallest Boy had to leave the store wearing tight, pinchy shoes but at least the older boys had their brand new pool sox.

Swings and roundabouts.  Swings and roundabouts. 

*verruca:  A horrible wart that develops from the inside out on the soul of the foot.  Very infectious and picked up at the swimming pool.  Common and popular treatments include freezing them off, taping them over with duct tape or Elastoplast, filing down with an emery board.  I am led to believe that over half will disappear of their own accord after a year.