Thursday 26 April 2018

Spending time with my niece...

Well, there is absolutely no pair of shoes in the world, the acquisition of which could possibly give me more joy than the 3 hours I spent today with my first born niece! Absolutely none! The maestro Manolo himself, even if he was designing a pair of his masterpieces just for me, could not possibly make me happier than I feel today after having spent the early evening hours with her! In one word, she is amazing!

As life has it, we don’t see each other very often... we live about 3000km apart and I have missed so many milestones in her life... my bad and no way to get that back. I did not really see her grow, but grown she has, into a wonderful young lady! At the age of 16 (ok, 16 minus 10 days) she is smart and funny and sensitive and kind and appreciative and a pleasure to talk to! She is both interested and interesting, she has views about our world, she wants to learn, she listens and she offers opinions, she has dreams, she has a great sense of humour and a loving heart! She is driven and a good student and she has friends she cares about and she has plans and she works hard and also knows how to have fun! And, she’s so, so pretty! Goodness, I’m so proud of her!

Of course I love her, I love her from the first time I saw her, a tiny little thing some 16 years ago! But now I can say in all certainty that I also like her! I like her a lot! I like the person she is becoming and I cannot wait to see more of her, to talk more with her, to enjoy seeing her becoming a woman! Oh, this world needs women like her, needs people like her, she gave me so much hope about the future! The kid is alright, really, and there are many like her and we will all be alright, the world will be alright!

I could never thank her enough for the joy she’s given me today but, hey, no reason not to try... so, thank you my sweet angel M! I love you and I like you lots!


Wednesday 25 April 2018

A support network...

...is better than shoes! I mean, waaaaaay better!

Life has been overwhelming in the past few months... things I never expected would happen, have, in fact, happened and I have found myself in a dark, sad place... and, for some time, I wouldn’t talk to my friends... I wouldn’t talk to anyone...boy, that was dumb! But, hey, the superwoman in me thought that could handle things but, as expected, I was wrong... I almost lost myself...

And then, I opened up... I opened up to S, who is one of the less judgemental people I know, always ready to see both sides, to understand both sides while being on my side too, in the sense that he’s worrying about me... I opened up to M, with her somewhat unconventional views but who is always there to offer me a different, and much needed, perspective on things, a perspective I often miss... I opened up to S and E who opened up a big hug for me, ready to offer their smile and cookies and sunny disposition to take away my pain! And then I opened up to S, her vote of confidence and humor and kindness offered in abundance and so, so much appreciated! And I opened up to M, the little sister I wish I had, her sweet bright smile and understanding and loving words warmed up my heart!

And now, today, being back home, I was received by A and S, S and A, who took me in their arms, literally and metaforically and made me feel like not a day has passed since we last met (although it has been almost two years...), who listened to me and comforted me but, once again, without judging, without placing blames, without drama but with the perspective that intelligent, experienced and kind women have over life... full of love, so much love that filled up my craving heart... They offered me the oasis I so much needed after having wandered in the desert for so long...

My network of support, my friends,  have been there for me, once again, and it has been all I could have wished for! I would gladly trade all my shoes for them, they are all amazing!! And I will never be able to thank them enough but I will not stop saying it: thank you my sweet, lovely, great friends! Thank you!!

Thursday 5 April 2018

kindness...



So, I read the other day an article over “kindness being the new mindfulness”... f”&#k that! Kindness is not the new anything, it’s just kindness and it is, and always has been, better than shoes!

I have been somewhat under the weather for some time... oh, well, who am I kidding, I have been pretty bad... you may have guessed it by the long silence that I have not been spotting “better then shoes” stuff to report for a while now... I can share with you that even shoes have lost somewhat their appeal to me lately... yep... that bad... however the eternal optimist in me still hopes that it is just a phase and all will be well and even better than before and love will prevail and I will have many, many reasons to smile again soon...

OK, enough with the whining, I’m here to talk about kindness... the kind (hey, this is a wordplay, no?...) that is given generously, unconditionally, openheartedly, abundantly, the kind that comes on a rainy day and brightens it up, exactly when you least expect it! The kind that surprises you and at the same time warms up your heart in ways that you thought forgotten... kindness over kindness already received... dearest L offered me all that and more yesterday and I will never forget it! He listened, he did not judge, he took great care of me, he gave me back a sense of self-confidence that I desperately needed and he did all that with a selflessness and honesty that brought tears to my eyes... happy tears...  yep, that kind of kindness... better than shoes...

My darling L, I thank you once again... you are a good man and don’t ever let anyone, ever, convince you otherwise... looking forward to meeting you again... ;)