Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Loving The Change....

As someone who suffers from an extreme anxiety disorder, I do not like change. It makes me uncomfortable and it can even trigger panic attacks. I am just not really good with change. It can be scary. And I loathe being scared.

I am a country girl. A country girl from the south. As such I spent almost my whole life barefoot. So much so that there is a pronounced gap between my big toe from my other toes. Think flip flop feet. I can wear a flip flop and not have the toe hold irritate my skin. They are the perfect feet for summer and I love flip flops. It's as close to barefoot as you can get without actually ya know, touching the ground with your heels. So I have always, always detested socks. They make my feet feel like they are suffocating. I hate the constraints that socks put on my skin. I hate the way they rub and bunch under the toes. Now that I live in the north, I put off wearing them for as long as possible. Like to the point of almost getting frost bite. It has to be extremely cold for me to put on a pair and I still make it a point to complain about it the whole time. I just hate them that much. I don't even own a pair of socks because of this. I just snag a pair of my husbands. I mean, why buy something I am never going to purposely wear?

And here is where the change part comes in. I was at the store the other day buying tennis shoes, or as youngins refer to them...gym shoes. I equally dislike tennis shoes for the same reasons I detest socks. They make my feet feel strangled, they are sweaty, and I think they look like brightly colored clown shoes or maybe even oddly shaped boats. I just don't want to wear them. But where I live it snows a great deal and you can't go around barefoot in the snow. Not if you are insistent on keeping your toes.

I found a pair of shoes that were less bulky and brightly colored and with that I needed an actual pair of socks. I mean, I don't want my feet to smell. Ew. So I was dreading the task. I wanted to just throw a good ol' fit like a four year old. Complete with fake tears, pouty lips, throwing myself on the floor and banging my fists on the ground. I was not happy. But then out of the corner of my eye I saw these brightly colored mustache socks. They had different types of mustaches printed on them. A big furry one on the green socks. A pencil thin french mustache on the pink ones. A handle bar mustache on the purple ones. A Tom Selleck mustache circa 1985 on the blue socks. Each pair had these funny and kooky mustaches on them and I was intrigued. Yes, I am just that nerdy. I love mustache memorabilia. I have no idea why, except it amuses me greatly.

So I decided if I was going to be forced to wear such ungodly contraptions as socks, I would get ones that at least made me happy to look at them. I got home and and slipped the first pair on. The yellow pair with the medium sized mustache and I giggled. I giggled every time I looked at my feet. And as it turned out these socks weren't like other socks that had burned me before with blisters and uncomfortable bulges. These socks felt almost like silk. Or maybe fuzz. Anyway, they felt like wonderful foot gloves and I was a changed woman. I now love wearing my socks, but only those kind of socks. I am so convinced of the quality of these socks that I am going to get more of them. They have many different socks that have even more mustaches on them and I am kinda excited. Little ol' me excited about socks? Who would have thought?

So, through trial and error I realized something. First of all mustaches make everything better. Seriously. Think about it. And secondly, change isn't always a bad thing. Sure, it can be scary. Sure, the unknown can be daunting and a tad unnerving. Yes, it is just easier to keep doing what you have always done but you miss out on new experiences that you may have never known you were missing out on. It may be uncomfortable at first but you can learn to love it. It took me thirty four years to adore socks and now that I have found the right brand, I have no issue wearing socks all of the time. My oldest even stole the blue Tom Selleck ones from me....I now have to find a better place to hide my socks. Lol. Thief!

It is strange something like socks can change your whole perspective on life, but ya know I take inspiration from anywhere I can get it. I believe that change is hard for me but if I find a way to make it less scary or even fun, I may be able to do things I once thought impossible. And of course while I do, I will be rocking these super funky mustache socks. Because I am cool like that.

I mustache you a question? Are you going to try something new? Maybe you should. Ya never know, you just might like it....
Neurotic Nelly


12 comments:

  1. This is inspirational Nelly. Thank you.

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  2. Betty Taylor has been doing something new every day this year and she's blogging about it. You can find her leaving comments on my blog, if you're inclined to see what she's up to.

    And like you, I hate wearing shoes and socks. I prefer to be barefoot. But ugh . . . I hate flip-flops or having anything between my toes. The only exception are those sandals where there's a loop that holds the big toe. I don't know but those don't bother me the way "thongs" do. I cringe just thinking about it.

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    1. My mom hates those too. My gappy toes just make the thongs not bother me for some reason. I would go barefoot if I could. Stupid Winter....ugh. Hopefully we will be barefooted again!!!

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  3. Love it... inspirational, funny, quick, heart felt and well.... just love everything about it. "Mustache you a question".... you crack me up. LOL

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  4. I am sooo glad you liked it! Thank you so much Sho! :)

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  5. That was a good read! I too spent as much time as possible bare-footed in S. CA and like to be barefoot at home, no matter how cold it is, if possible. A divine miracle that you found the moustache socks! It was meant to be. Rock your socks! That really cracked me up. :D

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  6. :) Thanks! I am glad it brought a smile to your face:)

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  7. Love it! I live in Queensland Australia and it is pretty warm and humid here. I hate wearing socks and shoes as well. In fact the first thing I do everyday when I get home from work is rip the suckers off and let my feet breath.

    I really enjoyed how you took your experience into a look at an issue that affects so many. This simply analogy will help many people understand why they are thinking the way they are.

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  8. I love fun socks! So are too stinking cute too! It's the little things in life!

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  9. It certainly is. Thank you Savanna!

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