One of the things I find so amazing about life is, you just can’t make up some of the most remarkable experiences, do you know what I mean? That is what happened to me last week when I experienced The Marvelous Case of the Flip Flops and how this led me to “no longer being the kind of person who takes what she can get, and finally becoming the kind of person who creates exactly what she wants” as Jen Sincero says.
You may want to sit back and be patient while I get to the main point, cuz there is a main part of the story, ok? Ever since I was a little girl, I have been a big fan of Nancy Drew. From curling up with a flashlight reading, way after bedtime, to pretending to be the slender sleuth, to current day devouring Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, not to mention curling up with my kitten and watching Nancy Drew movies, I am all in. When I was little I imagined myself on sleuth-like adventures and loved solving mysteries even if I had to make them up to do so.
With this Nancy Drew-like sense of adventure, I set off with my dog Ruffus, who thankfully shares my love of adventure to walk around our lake! When I say walk around the lake I mean walk around the lake in the water, as it was 30 degrees Celsius and felt very hot that day. So we entered the lake and turned left! My flip-flops splashed and splished through the icy lake water! Ruffus’ four paws also splashed as we walked companionably along the water’s edge. I was chirping away at Ruffus about how much I love him and how he is the best dog on the planet ever when suddenly my foot hit the mud, quicksand-like mud, and soon I was up to my thighs in muddy, sandy muck. Ruffus a mere two feet shoreside of me escaped this plight which is a good thing, trust me. After managing to free my foot and now broken flip flop from the muck and avoid scaring myself silly about what kind of creatures were swimming around, I took another step, and poof went down even farther, so now my white skirt and yellow polka dot shirt are well let’s just say no longer recognizable. I certainly had more important things to consider, like how to navigate around the beaver huts, get past private property, and find a safe place to exit, not even mentioning how I was going to get home from the lake without any shoes. I had left my phone at home so it would not fall in the lake meaning no calling home for a rescue. So at any rate the relative muddiness of my clothing was not my first concern.
Sometime later, flip flopless and mud from head to toe, and Ruffus looking like a spotted brown and white dog, we arrived home breathlessly, feeling rather like heroes returning from overseas if I do say so myself. Martin, my beloved husband did not actually bat an eye at our appearance although an eyebrow did go up when he noticed the one broken flip flop in my hand and of course the missing one he could not see as it is presumably at the bottom of the lake. He has become somewhat used to Ruffus and I returning from adventures and as long as it doesn’t involve falling through the ice he is pretty good with whatever.
“Jump in the car and I will tell you all about it”, I said.” We have to go to St Jovite to get Flip Flops”. Meaning, we would travel 10 k or so to our ” big” village in the Laurentians, even with a lockdown and hope that flip flops were on the essential item list. It wasn’t too long ago, I kid you not, that buying underwear was not considered essential but buying wine was, so I wasn’t too sure about flip flops.
We drove up to the discount store and I ran in. I quickly chose the 5.00 pair like I have my entire life. I got back to the car. Some little thought was burbling up and I was pushing it down. The thought was something like “you deserve better, you deserve better” So, not knowing what that was all about I drove to the fancy sports store. I ran in and found Reefs, a luxury version of a flip flop. Shyly I tried them on, good Godfrey they were comfortable, kind of a Mercedes of flip flops. Breathlessly, I bought them. Fifty-dollar flip-flops! I wore them all the rest of the day. I talked about them to Martin, all the rest of the day. I could just not believe how comfortable they felt. I could not believe that I had 50.00 flip-flops.
So it was the next day that I realized the lesson of The Marvelous Case of the Flip Flops. I understood what had happened. At that moment I had become the kind of person who no longer takes what she can get and instead I create what I want. I am going for it all the way.
I hope my little story gets you thinking about where in your own life you are settling for what you can get instead of creating what you want. What would you need to think and believe in order to create what you want? What keeps you in your own version of 5.00 flip-flops? Remember my friends, you create the life you want.
Susy Giddy is a Certified Life Coach. She helps clients Start Living their best lives. She can be reached at susy@cabaretelifecoaching.com
