My Magic Sneakers

I bought magic sneakers. I will reveal their secret powers a little later on, but as usual you have to suffer through some back story. I'm sure you've seen those T-shirts with a smiley face and the Life is Good! slogan. They always annoyed me. Then last week I saw a Facebook post proclaiming "that those T- shirt people got it right" (shout out to JS?), and it got me thinking that maybe they did, life is pretty good. Granted, it has been sort of a gimme the last few days, perfect weather and generally low life-stress at the moment. Nevertheless, on one of my recent extra-long walks I spent some time pondering the famous T-shirt mantra. I have been doing a lot of mental whining lately (I spared you most of it) and decided what if they were right, maybe I should start to focus on the "Good." I’m not being Pollyanna, and who knows, next week Life might be Sh*t, but for the moment I’m going to do my best to see the positive. I would also assume that, for most people I know, the balance sheet of life would weigh fairly heavily in the affirmative. There will always be a few that seem happier or have more stuff or less baggage, but we live in a pretty small bubble around here and I would guess that just outside of it, our lives are looking pretty rosy.

If I had to explain my current euphoria I would have to say that I have started to take stock in the little things. The stuff that maybe I've been taking for granted or what generally gets pushed to the bottom of the life pile underneath the bills and the laundry and deciding what to cook for dinner. I think I had a "moment" (I won't say an Aha moment, too Oprah) on the aforementioned "extra-long walk." It was a perfectly warm day with clear blue skies and low humidity (the humidity factor is key for me).  I took my usual route, up and down the steep hills of my neighborhood, in and out of the cul-de-sacs of green lawns and flowers in full bloom. I had my head phones on, a perfect walking playlist (if I'm not careful I start dance-walking and singing out loud) and my new sneakers. It was revolutionary. When I started this walking thing a few months back I never invested in proper footwear.  I have been known to fully wardrobe myself for a new hobby (golf was an expensive one) and then just as I rip the tags off and the return period has ended, I have moved on to a new endeavor. Thus, I already had sneakers and sweatpants, so walking seemed to be a non-investment sport. As the walks became longer the blisters seemed to be a part of the package; I did feel as if maybe they were the battle scars of an athlete. Of all the labels I have been given in my lifetime, athlete has never been one of them, so I put Band-Aids on my injured heels with pride and continued walking. Then on a recent outlet trip I visited the Nike store and there in front of me were walking sneakers, cute ones in black with hot pink trim, and I thought maybe I should give them a try. It was instant Foot nirvana, my instep resting one a gel bed and my heels in a seemingly abrasion-free zone. Worst case scenario, they'd look good and I'd buy more Band-Aids. But no, the first walk was liberating, I could have gone another 5 miles. Apparently there is a reason people buy "real" sneakers, and the "fashion sneaker" category is just that, as in not meant for anything more than looking good. Anyway, back on my inaugural sneaker walk, it occurred to me that these adorable $59.99 Nikes made all of me happy, not just my battered feet. Instead of thinking about how painful the last mile home would be and how fast I could kick off my shoes at the front door, I just enjoyed the scenery and the music. I nodded hello to the other walkers, the gardeners, the cable guys (why is there always a Comcast truck parked somewhere on my route), and waved to the cars with familiar faces. Headphones give you license to not stop and say Hi, no one ever thinks you are being rude, it's a sweaty free pass. That's where it all began. What other little obstacles had been preventing me from enjoying the view? Maybe I had to stop putting bandages on the issues and just take steps to fix them or ignore them. So I promised myself to give it a shot, or at least try not to focus on the bruises that take away the pleasure of the journey. Just like Dorothy (I never miss a chance to make a Wizard of Oz reference), the power was in the shoes, I just had to discover it on my own.

My first few days out of the happiness gate were better than expected. It was Father's Day weekend which is usually kind of a downer for me, but Jeffrey is a father, an amazing one, and he deserves to be celebrated. We didn't have a plan, a few activities in mind, but figured we'd just go with the flow and enjoy a quiet family weekend (minus one family member, Scott did his best, but couldn't get home). Friday night was our usual dinner out with Andrew, a great Thai meal and an especially chatty son. Saturday morning Jeffrey and I enjoyed coffee and the paper while the boys slept, and discussed the day ahead. Watching me once again fight with my temperamental repaired iPad, he suggested a trip to the Apple store for a new one. I reminded him that it was Father's Day weekend, the presents weren't supposed to be for me (not that there was anything wrapped and hiding in the closet for him either, we are not big present people). In classic Jeffrey style he responded that the only present he wanted was to make me happy, and I would never want to disappoint him, so I guess I had to get a new iPad. But, it can't be all about me, and I knew just the thing to share the love. It was time for a new dog. I knew that he wouldn't push it until I was ready, but this seemed the perfect day to start the process. There was already a plan in place for Jeffrey and the boys to visit the animal shelter, but without me joining them (which I hadn't planned on doing) it was just window shopping. And so it was decided, the four of us would go get an iPad and then we'd go look for a new dog. We spent the day shopping, for technology and puppies, in and out of the car, laughing with and at each other and it was perfect. For a little while it seemed like I found the elusive "pause" button and life was stuck in one of those magical family moments. We got home well after dinner time with my new iPad (can’t you tell the ease with which I am typing), it's snappy orange case and a potential new doggie. I don't want to waste what I'm sure will be a furry blog, so I will save that story for later in the week.

Sunday, Father's Day, had a pre-planned father-son golf outing. Nothing fancy, just the three of them at a local course sharing one set of clubs and some man bonding. Apparently cell phones were left in the car (on purpose) which may be the best Father's Day gift of all. I used the alone time to buy a card at Walgreens, digging through the unloved cards, literally thrown in a rolling cart for the last-minute wives and children (no joke, see the photo on my Facebook page) and made a quick visit to my father. I wasn't planning on it, but got in the car after the card purchase and that's where I ended up. I also arranged a post-golf visit with our prospective new puppy so later that afternoon we all loaded in the car again for a walk and some playtime with Roby (I hope didn't just jinx it by mentioning his name). Back on the road, we headed to a favorite dinner spot down towards the shore, roasted clams and corn on the cob charred in the husk and dripping with butter (you're salivating, I know). We had a cooler packed with margaritas and beer and water bottles for Andrew, our under-age potential designated driver. An unexpected meeting with best friends at the restaurant led to combined tables and contraband. On a side note, wouldn't you know that a diner at the next table was wearing one of "the" T-shirts, its happy face slogan staring me in the face the whole night; an obvious cosmic poke. Lots of eating and even more laughing, ice cream for dessert and a night cap at their house on the beach, another perfect day. Joy once again found in the simple and the unexpected. Only thing preventing 100% satisfaction was Scott not being with us, but he made his presence known with a bottle of Jeffrey's favorite Bombay Sapphire Gin, hand delivered by David. If I had tried to orchestrate the perfect Father's Day weekend it would have paled in comparison to this one.

It's now 10:54 pm on Monday and Life is still feeling pretty Good! I don't need the T-shirt (and although I learned the lesson, truthfully they still annoy me). I've got happy feet, a new attitude and my magic sneakers; together they'll lead the way.