Shoes off!

I've never understood the "Shoes Off!" rule when walking into some homes.  My first encounter was when I was in college and we went to a friend's house (she still lived with her parents)  and they had just put in new white carpet.  Why white carpet?  I have no idea.   We had to take our shoes off and then we had to walk on these plastic sheets to get to her room or the backyard or something ridiculous.  I just remember thinking why in the hell buy white carpet to have plastic walkways everywhere in your house to protect stuff.  I didn't get it then and I don't get it now.  I've thought long and hard about this.

Is it because they don't want you to track dirt in?  Is your house covered in light colored carpet that any trace of wearing shoes will show up immediately?  Is it a cultural/traditional  thing like with the Japanese? Any way I look at it, it all seems to come down to keeping your carpet/floors clean.

While I am guilty of kicking my shoes off as soon as I walk into my house and walking around barefoot I would never expect guests to do the same.  It's probably safer for you to wear your shoes in our house since getting a goathead stuck in your foot isn't a pleasant surprise.  And that isn't me tracking them in it's usually Daisy.  My mom was a big stickler for wearing shoes, she hated seeing any of us walk around barefoot. She was positive that our hot bodies mixing with a cold floor would cause cold sores and/or make us sick.  My other main motivation for wearing shoes in the house is never knowing what critter is lurking around the corner.  Growing up in Marana in the mobile home we always had a nice variety of critters.  Scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas, snakes, ants, and spiders would somehow find their way into the house.  Even in my Mom's new house they still get scorpions and spiders come through the backdoor somewhere. So when waking up at midnight to grab some water you better believe I'm wearing some sturdy flip flops or good shoes to walk to the kitchen. I'd rather hear a crunch than feel the sting!

My other thing is what happens if you refuse to take your shoes off?  Would you tell your guest to leave? What if they didn't want to take off their shoes because they have horrible holes in their socks or their shoes make their feet smell like popcorn or moldy cheese? What if they have athlete's foot? EWWWW!  What if they have diabetes and need their special shoes? What if you aren't wearing socks and your feet are all disgusting and sweaty and you have the most horrible toe nails in the world?

The last place I went to that had the implied no shoes rule was at a professor's house.  No carpet in the kitchen dining area that opened up to the patio where the little shin dig was to happen.  There was an area to the immediate right of the sliding door where a pile of shoes/flip flops were placed.  I think I walked in 5 feet into the room, grabbed a plate of food and walked back outside.  No way in hell I was taking my shoes off to walk in 5 feet.  The shoes I wore make my feet sweat and I wasn't wearing socks and the area they lived in I was immediately on alert for those little critters that I imagine lust for sweaty feet. The professor's husband would take his shoes and socks off and on when going into and leaving the house.  I was amazed each time I watched this guy do this.

On Monday while at my mom's house the kids were all running in and out, the little one you have to run after her to make sure she is wearing her shoes when she goes outside.  You could see the path the kids were leaving from the front door to the computer room and I know my mom gets pissed about that but have you seen how dirty little kids feet get?  It's disgusting.  I remember having to ask my niece to change into her pajamas or something and she took off her shoes and socks and I was horrified! The smell, the dirtiness, the dampness! These are the things horror movies are made of!  So while my mom just sweeps and mops the tracks away I'm pretty sure she'd rather have the kids wear their shoes then have slimy kid feet run around  her house besides she sweeps on a daily basis and mops on a weekly basis so the extra tracks aren't exactly going to ruin her life.

The other thing that bugs me is ok it's one thing if you have the rule for friends and family that are familiar with your home.  It's a comfort thing too but what about parties....if I'm invited over for a party and then you make me take my shoes off...you just ruined half my outfit! I wore those cute shoes for a reason and to just have them look cute in the entryway, not cool!

And does this apply to people working on your house?  Would you tell the plumber to take his work shoes off?  Where does this insanity stop?

Perhaps the next time I'm asked to take my shoes off, I'll run around in mud in my barefeet or socks and then take my shoes off.