Best Foot Forward

It's time again...I hate to have to buy a new pair of gym shoes! There is nothing to compare with the comfort of a pair of old walking shoes. You know the ones---they conform to your foot and support you in all the right places from toe to heel. You slide your foot in and cinch up the laces and your foot says, "aahhh" as you take to the hills and flats. It seems like you don't get much time with that 'just right' feeling. It's only a few months and you look down and they are worn out and don't look as great anymore. You've washed the heck out of them, the tread has worn, the heels are uneven and the insides are crappy. It's time to cast them aside and get a new pair to break in. well, 'new' hurts. I have to start the whole blister-to-callus routine all over again. They just don't make shoes like they used to. I used to be able to get a comfortable pair off the shelf and wear them with no problem. I don't know why my feet take so much time to adjust to new shoes. I already want my old pair back! I get a little melancholy thinking about the miles spent together and it's hard to throw them out. Most of the time they spend a season being yard and garden shoes before they get tossed in the dumpster for good.
Although there are similarities, thank goodness FRIENDS don't wear like old shoes. Old friends always remain comfortable with time. They might slow down, but they never completely wear out. They are with you in all of life's hills and flats-the trials and laughter. When you're with good friends you always want to put your best foot forward and be your best self. Activites and outings with old friends lift you up like the arch in your shoe, but you just don't get much time in this busy life... Your conversations always feel 'just right' and nothing compares to their support. I hope I don't sound like a heel because new friends are good, too. It just takes a little time to get broken in to a new style of walk and talk. But, I'm hoping to keep my old friends around forever. After time, they might look a little worn and lumpy, but 'aahhh' what a blessing to my sole-er, I mean 'soul'.
(We loved our Spring Break Trip to Moab this year with our good old friends and some new ones. Cherished Times and Great Memories!)

Hey...they tricked us!

My granddaughter's school had a big 'promotion' going. Mrs. Bodily, kept telling her first grade classroom that Alvin and the Chipmunks were coming soon for a special assembly at their school. 6 year-old Kennedy talked and dreamed about it for nearly 4 months! She got her little brother pumped to see Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, too. The big day came and the school gym was packed with excited kids who had flocked to Bridgerland Elementary School to meet their cartoon heroes! Chipmunk chatter filled the air as anticipation had built to a peak. With wide-eyed wonder, the students, visiting siblings, parents, friends, and invited relatives all sat on the black metal chairs facing the velveteen curtains. The big event had finally arrived! A hush came over the audience as the lights went down and the curtains were drawn. Three lone figures stepped to center stage... and an audible groan swept the hall.
All eyes recognized the three school personnel clad in homemade 'costumes' (if you can call a large, yellow paper "A" pinned to the front of an old sweatshirt a costume). Disappointment deflated the crowd like a puncture to a latex balloon. Speechlessness ensued. The crowd had been duped! Months of anticipation gave way to disbelief. Even 3 year-old Mason recognized the wrongness of the whole event. In the silence of stupor still capturing the audience, Mason loudly and distinctly voiced what everyone else was obviously thinking: "Hey, they tricked us! That's not the real Chipmunks!" The months of build-up crumbled to a huge pile of disgust over the lousy imitation. It was hard to tell which group was more disappointed: 1)Parents & Adults at the obvious lack of effort made to make it special for the kids after so many months of hype or 2)Children in losing the sense of magic that accompanies events like Christmas and Easter because adults they trusted failed to deliver on a promise.
I have a pet peeve! PLEASE, when you accept a calling or an assignment, give it your best effort. Remember that others are counting on you to pull it together, follow it through, do it right-and with some element of finesse and 'magic'. It is so much more 'adult' to recognize and admit your limits. If you can't do something, don't say 'yes' in the first place! It's better to say, "I'm sorry, but I just can't help you with that right now" than to say you will accept the challenge and then let it slide and do nothing at all or do it poorly. That is so childish and disappointing AND it's a bad trick to play on others. Follow through with your commitments and promises. If you don't, you deserve being pointed at and 'boo'ed on center stage, while wearing a big yellow "A" on your chest - and it DOES NOT stand for 'Alvin'!