Saturday, January 9, 2010

“A pair of shoes can change your life. Just ask Cinderella.” -Anonymous

Here lately I've been feeling down in the dumps. Despite this impending move, all that I have to get done, & the excitement I feel about this new adventure, I have still been feeling pretty low. Not motivated. I cry for no good reason. Just...bummed. I mean, I've seriously considered getting myself a therapist. Not that I have some huge opposition to therapy. I guess I've just always felt like "I got this." I just need a few days to wallow in it  & then get it under control. Then I'll be good, you know?

Truth be told, I probably should follow through with that phone call and maybe unburden myself of some of the heavier things on my plate. But that's not what this post is about. Today, it all doesn't feel quite as heavy as it has the past few months.  Why, you ask? I'm going to let you in a little secret of mine. Don't laugh. I swear this works. Well...it works for ME. It's something I've been doing for a long time. Here goes.

I woke up this morning and looked around and realized that in spite of the fact that I'm packing up for a big move, that my house was a hot mess. I mean a friggin disaster zone! I was appalled, I must confess. Faced with the mighty task of cleaning (UGH!) I could feel myself sliding down into the dumps again. So I went into my bedroom, then into my closet. I closed the door behind me and I tried on ALL of my shoes! All of them! (For those of you who KNOW me, you know what a tall order this is.)

After lovingly putting each pair on and doing a little strut and twirl in them, then moving on to the next pair for more of the same...I decided which ones I was deeming my favorites...for today. Then I put those back on and I went back into my room, I cranked up the radio to a great dance station and I got to it. I swept, I mopped. I did laundry. I folded it. (This is an especially irritating chore to me.) I washed dishes. I made the bed. I made breakfast and later on made lunch. I may have even danced a little bit! All the while in a gorgeous pair of super high heels.

Why, you ask? I'll tell ya. Because I started thinking about how GOOD I feel when I'm dressed up and wearing a great pair of heels. I realized that typically, I'd only wear them to go out & about, which I really don't do all that often. So WHY then, would I only put on my favorite shoes then and only then? If I can mimic that feeling more regularly than only when I leave my home, why not?!

I actually break my new shoes in this way. A full on clean up of the house. If I can clean two floors of home in them, I can surely dance for hours in them. It works!! It really does. If I start to blister, then I know that those may not be the best to go dance in and are maybe better suited to going to have a dinner or catch a show. Giggle if you want, but I've been doing this for years and it hasn't failed me yet.

Today though, my shoes served to simply put some (much needed!!) pep in my step. I felt good. Sexy! I felt like I should get through my chores & then head out for a night on the town. (Which I'm not doing since it's only 18 degrees out there.)  But I felt like I could. And sometimes, when the simplest act of just getting out of my PJs seems like such an overwhelming task, something as simple as a putting on a good pair of shoes can serve to cheer me up. Hell, maybe I don't need to make that phone call after all....  ; )

6 comments:

  1. I will always say It's always the little things!!!! I may have to try that next time I will myself out of bed......Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love it! I think it's important that we always take a little time to do the things that put a smile on our faces -- even when coupled with things that definitely do NOT (like folding laundry haha). What a great way to change your perspective on the day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ok let's try this again (lol)

    Ok Lor- LOVE IT!!!!
    I remember you saying something about this back in the spring or summer... so when i was having a particularly hard day last summer...I came hope with a new pair of killer open toed black stilettos and i decided, I'm gonna break these bad boys in today...doing laundry, cleaning house and doing the norm.
    Cleaning never felt better!! i never felt more glamorous in sweats LOL...i truly got to break them in... i felt amazing in them while doing a job that i didn't feel so amazing doing! i remember taking a shower that night, pouring myself a glass of red wine, lighting some candles... and just enjoying me that night (no kiddies that day/night...
    i owe that to your little insight and i appreciate that- and i'm glad you shared it again with everyone!
    love ya chica!~ miss ya like nuts and i hope you kick ass out there on the west coast!
    muahhhhh

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nikk, I am SO pleased that you did this & that it WORKED! We women tend to get lost in our roles as mothers, wives, & goddesses... ; ) In doing so, sometimes we forget our 'Sexy' & I've found this to be a quick easy way to recall that woman that I sometimes neglect. Thanks for the comments ladies! Keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You know what I just decided... I need more shoes! My husband may disagree, but so what. The obvious intangibles shoes provides are priceless. I love the idea of cleaning the house in shmancy shoes as a way of breaking them in/ breaking the funk. I think I'll steal that one!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is an awesome way to get motivated. Will have to try it sometime :)

    ReplyDelete