Shoes in a shoeless house

I live in a house with my wife Jane where shoes are allowed at all times.

My brother Joe and his wife Nancy have a shoeless house.

As a result, their house is a lot cleaner than our house because we track in all kinds of outside stuff inside the house, especially during the winter ... dust, dirt, grime, pollen, road salt.

But I'm more comfortable padding around my dirty house in my shoes than I am padding around Joe's clean house in my socks.

It must be a tactile thing. It just feels funny to me to go shoeless. In the comfort of my own house, I always have something on my feet. Even if the shoes come off, a pair of flip flops goes on. In summer, I don't do barefoot.

Taking off one's shoes is customary in some countries, notably Japan, where shoes are removed before entering homes, schools and other buildings, the intent here to emphasize cleanliness. While on a business trip to Tokyo a few years ago, I was part of a group to dine at a nice restaurant and we removed our shoes and were given slippers to wear during the meal.

Good thing I had packed the good socks without the holes in the toes.

I didn't grow up in a shoeless house. My mother's only requirement for her brood of eight kids was to remove our snow boots. Other than that it was all shoes all the time.

So what is a shoe-wearing person to do in a shoeless house?

I had the presence of mind for a recent dinner party at my brother's to throw a pair of boat moccasins into the tote bag that included my appetizer contribution. It turned out great ... I held to the household protocol of ditching my shoes, wet with snow and gritty with sand, and I held to my need to wear something on my feet. Everyone was happy, happy feet and all.

After experiencing the Joe and Nancy shoeless household, my wife and I discussed the merits of a shoeless house for ourselves. But it was a brief discussion. We'll live with the detritus of nature that we haul into the house on our shoes.

If you invite me over, do me a favor and let me know -- shoes or no shoes? I’ll need to make sure I pack my mocs, or make sure I wear my good socks.