Thankful for… Friends and Shoes
Image courtesy of GiGi Downs.
Guest post by Cheryl Nordyke
One of the things men have been unable to understand about women is our love and need for so many pairs of shoes. Why do we need the exact same pump in more than one color? Regardless of the fact that they are not even close to the same pump. One has a peek-a-boo toe for when I want to look a little sexy. One has a sling back for when I want to be elegant. They each have different characteristics and represent a different trait of mine.
Like shoes another aspect of our lives that men are perplexed by is our friendships with other women. They don’t get our connection to them and our desire to share almost everything. Men don’t understand how we can in one week spend so much time texting, talking on the phone and emailing our friends about every little detail of our lives. They don’t fully comprehend the need we have for a girl’s night out to just be ourselves, not a wife or mother.
Our shoes give us a boost and add a little variety and flare to our outfits and our personalities. Take those peek-a-boo pumps and get rid of the business suit. Throw on a pair of jeans and you go from casual to trendy and fun. Shoes can make us feel sexy, fashionable, fun, edgy, bold, and brilliant. Those old Converses are for a night out with the girls to see Bon Jovi and they take us back to the days when husbands and kids were only a dream.
Our friends, like our shoes, give us variety and flare:
- My friend Ginny is a wine enthusiast as well as a mother of 5. She is great to share life’s obstacles and dreams with while sampling a good Pinot.
- My friend Robbie has known me since I was 18. She understands my history having lived much of it with me. She understands my moods and reminds me when I doubt myself how far I have come.
- My friend and sister Di is my idol. She has never fully accepted that role in my life yet that is how I see her. She is the one person I want to impress. She understands our childhood, and makes me laugh like a child again. She may not live close, yet is very close to my heart.
- My friend Carrin and business partner is my sounding board. She is my inspiration and reminder that life is sometimes better if we let our hair down every once in while and just get crazy.
- My newest friend Kim is both a friend and business partner. She has taught me to act—to actually do what you say you are going to. This was never difficult for me to do for someone else I worked for. When we decided to move forward with our business she held me accountable. Although I haven’t known her that long and our religious affiliations may have been different I feel a bond to my grandmother through her. She reminds me that life has so much meaning and purpose.
- My friend and saving grace has been Sheri. In a very short period of time she opened her home to my daughter when work took me away from my home. She is quirky and funny with that Jacqueline Kennedy class and style. She reminds me to always laugh no matter what life throws at you. I don’t think I know anyone that smiles as much as she does.
Like each pair of shoes brings out different elements of my character and personality, each friendship does the same and more. As women we are lucky to be able to open ourselves up and share our quiet side, our perky side, our tomboy side, and all the different elements of who we are. By doing so we continue to grow into being whom we are meant to be. As our shoes add flare to our outfits, our friendships add flare and variety to our lives. Thank you to all my friends who have helped me get here.
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Cheryl Nordyke and Kim Wierman are the founders of Waves of Gratitude - a company that exists because of their belief that when life presents you with professional and personal difficulties, a strong foundation of gratitude can help turn those difficulties into opportunities. The owner’s resolve to build a future based on a foundation of gratitude is unwavering. The pair created an online store to give everyone the opportunity to “wear” powerful symbols of gratitude, jewelry and apparel made to personalize the concepts of hope, love, legacy, creativity, optimism, inspiration, confidence and awakening that make everyone beautiful inside and out.
