Day 21

It's a snowy Saturday afternoon and I'm feeling awfully blessed. We're not the most financially fortunate, but I feel incredibly wealthy with loved ones around me and complete strangers supporting this cause. In less than 24 hours we've received 32 brand new bow ties from four different donors. 

Before I get to today's tie, let me pause and share a little about my sons. I woke up this morning to find our two older boys sprawled out on their bedroom floor amidst their toys. When I asked what they were up to, Luis - the eldest - says "We're looking through the toys so we could donate them to the Buckeye Corner." (Side note: The Buckeye Corner is a classroom store that his 2nd grade teachers set up as part of an incentive/ classroom economy system. Essentially students earn classroom dollars for desired behavior and get to spend that money on new or used toys, books, or school supplies.) I replied, "Did Mami ask you to donate toys?" When he said no, I follow up with "then why are you doing this?" His next line left me speechless. "Because we have too much." His decision making about his toys inspires me to get rid of some of my own. I may not have a collection of action figures that I still play with, but there are a closet full of sneakers that I don't need. OK, so maybe I'll hit up eBay instead of the Salvation Army. Either way, Luis is right. We have more than enough and we ought to be more than ok with letting go of our material things for the sake of others. <insert warm fuzzy feeling>

Today's tie comes by way of ties.com and feature a combination of two of my favorite colors. As part of their package they were kind enough to include a matching kid's tie so one of my son's could coordinate with me at church tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that.

What you have below is a short video of how I like to tie my bow ties - just for you, Christian G. It's a bit unorthodox because during Step 4 most gents usually make the second loop by pushing through the back of the first loop. I find it much easier to use the front door. Of all the videos I've seen posted on how to tie a bow tie I've never seen folks use this one. I suggest watching the 1-minute clip a few times while you're tying your own. Here are the steps I posted along with the video. Enjoy!

Step 1. Tie a regular knot.

Step 2. Make the first loop with the under layer. This is half of your bow.

Step 3. Center your loop in the proper bow tie position.

Step 4. Wrap the over layer down and around the bow's middle and make the other loop by pushing the loop in front of the first one and through to the other side.

Step 5. Adjust the loops by pulling the double ends.

Step 6. Untie by pulling the single ends.