Being Open to New Friends and Lessons

I am a strong believer that every encounter or meeting of someone new, is God's way of sending you a message. The belief that there is something to be gained from the interaction keeps my mind open to possiblility. In my mind, my village is full. I have the best family and friends anyone could ask for. The majority are happy, healthy and relatively drama free. In reality, I really don't have time to add anyone else into the fold, as I don't have time to spend with all the people I really want to spend time with. Also, my husband thinks I have too much on plate and that I might leave myself too thin. As long as it doesn't interfere with Thursday "date night", I believe I can handle most things and participate in most things.

So for the last two years, I have worked with someone and we had been cordial, the cursory nod and hello in the hallways. HOwever, since last fall when our company moved to Itasca, we have been riding the train together to and from work. In that time, we have gotten to know each other pretty well. We talk about a multitude of things from kids to politics to weight gain/loss, etc. Yesterday, we lumbered over to Title 9 sports store for women for a Sports Bra Fit Test. We met an amazing woman named June, who helped us with our bras and I think a little more. As usual, I had done research, knew which bra I wanted to test and tried it on and bought it within 15 minutes of entering the shop (I'll save it for another blog, the best sports bra).

My co-worker however, needed a little more help with the girls and self confidence. By the time we saw her in a new every day bra, the transformation was amazing. Not only were her "girls" up and looked amazing. We put her in a form fitting, coral-colored t-shirt that took 15 pounds off her her frame and lightened up her face and complexion. Just visualize an over sized man's plaid shirt in lime green, with unshapely brown pants. She had been wearing over, over sized shirts, baggy pants to work and for everyday dog walks. Who knew she looked this amazing. Everyone in the store was speechless and urged her to try on more clothes and to become more comfortable with her shape. That set off a discussion on body issues, abs, jiggly thighs and arms. It is incredible how women open up to each other and are willing to share their experiences. I love the power of Women!

The real issue was "body image". For so long, she was unaware of how to dress her body and she thought she since couldn't find a bra to harness her "girls", she thought it would be okay to just wear over sized clothes. Remember, on Monday, I came to grips with my fat during Piloxing class and vowed to work harder. No matter, what my shape, I do dress my body and am really good at hiding a multitude of sins with great clothers. But most importantly, I became real friends with a co-worker, gained a new friend in June, and learned that we all have body issues, no matter what our size, color, dna, etc. and that these brief encounters with women trying to find a good bra, taught me a lot.

June did more than fit us bras. She was a 65 year old Caucasian woman that imparted knowledge, wisdom and kindness along with her expertise and a hug. We will be friends for a long time. So, I learned something new, gained some new friends and got a new sports bra for running. Not bad for a Wednesday.

Enjoy your day and learn something new or meet someone new to learn a lesson. Peace and

Love, Sandals,

Real Life, Real Talk, Real Women