These Steve Maddens are perfect for waiting on good things and also going after what you want. Photo by Jean Thornton
I waited patiently the whole month of January for a very special delivery that was not arriving as quickly as I hoped. In December I got an email from Jimmy Choo thanking me for my support of the their “You, Your Shoes, and 72” photo contest which also promoted their part of the Elton John’s HIV/AIDS Foundation. As a gesture of their gratitude, I was asked to send my home address so they could send me a thank you gift. As a supporter of local AIDS charity efforts I was thrilled to help Jimmy Choo with this cause, but if Jimmy Choo offers you a thank you gift, of course you take it!
For weeks I discussed what little surprise Jimmy Choo might be sending me with my friends, family, and complete strangers in the grocery store. We dreamed of everything from shoes to perhaps a secret new product that promised eternal life. In truth it could have been a used gum wrapper and I would still have proudly displayed it and celebrated the mere chance to view it. What can I say—I am easily amused! Sadly, days and weeks passed and I had a strange feeling that Jimmy Choo had stood me up. And with every day that passed without my Choo delivery I felt a little more disappointed.
In the midst of my waiting for Choo, I realized that I had let my shoe happiness be swayed by outside forces. And despite the fact that in this same interim I had bought seven other great pairs of shoes, I was letting the lack of Jimmy Choo’s package bring me down. After all I am a very lucky shoe girl with a closet that literally overflows with pumps, boots, stilettos, and platforms. Yet, it was that one package that had not arrived that was causing me to slip into a shoe defective disorder every time I saw my empty mailbox.
As I pondered how one missing package from Jimmy Choo had distracted me from the pleasure that waited in the many other shoe boxes I already had in my possession, I realized that it is not just with shoes that I sometimes allow others to determine my happiness. I couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t a Choo metaphor for so much else in life. Do we constantly look for what we don’t have and ignore what we do have?
I thought about the many successes I have achieved through my own hard work and determination. And while I am very proud of my professional achievements and some personal points of pride such as owning a home or earning accolades from co-workers and peers, sometimes it’s what I don’t have that seems to draw the most critiques from myself and others. The questions about what I don’t have often seem louder than the appreciation for what I do have. Well-meaning family and friends will frequently congratulate me on a career milestone and then ask who I am dating, or they will question why I seemingly focus on shoes over children. While I don’t want to discredit the joy that a partner or a child could bring to my life, it still stings to feel like it’s a missing piece or a barrier to my happiness. Just like the promise of a missing Jimmy Choo thank you gift lessened the excitement of the many shoes I bought that month, the things I don’t achieve often block the sight of what I do have.
It was when I decided that I would not let Choo rain on my parade that the package arrived—and isn’t that often true in other life situations! The thank you gift was a tote bag promoting the newest line of Jimmy Choo shoes; what shoe girl wouldn’t want to proudly display this bag? And while it is lovely, it is not nearly as fun as new Kate Spade leather handbag that also arrived that day.
In the end I learned two important lessons: first, always ask for a tracking number when it comes to designer return addresses, and second, what others offer us can be wonderful, but we offer ourselves should never be overlooked. I am very happy to be the only shoe girl in Key West carrying a thank you bag from Jimmy Choo, but I am also thrilled to be wearing my new LAMB heels too. It’s true others may help us find happiness, but it’s good to know that in the end I get the final say—or shoe—in what that happiness is.
Great blog this week – and so true. We all need to be reminded to focus more on the positives in our lives. You have such insight and wisdom. Thanks for sharing it with us.
What shoes are these? They are great!