The bright mall lights reflecting off the store windows were no match for unique design or perfectly placed sparkles – nay, twinkles – that caught my eye.
“Oooooh.” Gasp and exhale. With swift breath and racing pulse I entered the store to my shoe destiny.
They were one of a kind. Beautiful. So “Me.” Nobody would have them. Nobody that I knew, that’s for sure.
They were the types of shoes that scream “YES” to the world. “I love it”
As my devoted husband trailed lovingly behind me, I caught the salesman’s attention (probably by frantically and excitedly waving) and pointed to them.
“Can I please see those in a size 9”?
He looked at me, and with a mix of pity, confusion and what I can only describe as wonderment, he replied,
“Madame, those shoes are for children.”
My heart sank a little. Oh, the dismay. And slight embarrassment.
Which would probably be eased if this was a one-time mistake.
But alas…not once, not twice…but thrice.
Yup. I have – on three separate occasions – excitedly entered a shoe store to ask to “see my size” in a child’s shoe.
Do I ever learn?
Nah.
The excitement washes over me, and everything else fades into oblivion.
Then comes the embarrassment.
And slight pride, as I chuckle.
Yes, pride.
That I will always be who I am, who I was when I was 5. All the same hopes and dreams and unicorn sparkle love..and it’s okay. It’s more than okay. It’s wonderful.
Because when something – anything – has you excited enough that the twinkles and the beauty has you moving forward towards your dream…a dream of super-awesome shoes or a business that rocks and a life you love, one that LIGHTS YOU UP, that same thing that drives you to see only sparkles…everything else becomes a blur.
You forget the possibility for embarrassment. You forget the past hurt, rejection, failures, disappointments. You aren’t as scared because what you see before you is so freakin’ beautiful.
You don’t care what other people think. You see the word with fresh, innocent eyes…you see possibility. You don’t take yourself – or life – to seriously. You enjoy. You just want to dance with those things on your feet.
Believe in that beauty. Embrace it. Enough to blur the background. Enough to fight resistance.
So…yeah. Nobody I know will have those shoes because my crowd isn’t really a flock of five-year-olds, no matter how fashionable they may be.
If you question my taste that’s okay too. Just get a load of the shoes at IrregularChoice, they cater to a whole army of Sarenas. Yes, adult Sarenas.
And there is a perfect something for you. Something perfectly twinkly. Deep down, you may already know what it is.
Just be bold enough to keep asking “Can I see those in a 9, please?”
With love,
XO
Sarena
