Different Drummer

Sometimes I feel like I march to the beat of a different drummer.

Manicures and Pedicures. Everyone seems to think they are not only nice, but necessary these days. They seem so frivolous to me. Never had one. Don't want one. I have funny little feet with short stubby toes. My toes look a little like fringe on a pillow. Why would I want to draw attention to them? A lady here in Ft. Worth recently died after getting a pedicure from a staff infection that she got from tools which hadn't been sanitized. They have clamped down on the shops, but I will tell you the best way to avoid infection...do your toenails yourself...if you do them at all.

Expensive cute little purses. Seems everyone buys a whole wardrobe of cute little purses and they change them with every outfit, or at least regularly. I recently spent the most I've ever spent on a purse. $32. It is black so it will be my winter purse. I usually just use one purse year round, but I recently bought a woven straw looking one that I've been using for summer for $7.50. I am particular about purses even though "cute" isn't one of my qualifications. I love the organizer purses with lots of separate compartments and a zippered section on one side that holds credit cards, etc. I want another outside pocket to hold my cell phone and a place to hook my keys. I don't like them to be too tall, it makes it too hard to see all the way to the bottom. I like a shoulder strap that isn't too long, so that the purse fits snugly just above my waist. Most straps are too long and I end up tying knots in them. It's hard to find a purse that meets even most of my expectations. I know exactly where to look for everything I carry in my purse, so why would I want to go to the trouble to change purses so often? It's not only a lot of trouble, it means I don't know where to find anything for a while. I don't think of my purse as a part of my outfit, I think of it more as a piece of luggage. It needs to be practical first. Cute is a distant second.

Slides, Mules, heels and flip flops. Go to the shoe department and see the percentage of shoes that aren't one of those. I have hard to fit feet and I will spend extra money to buy good shoes (although I still prefer a good clearance sale.) But, I personally don't have many shoes that don't have at least a heel strap. Maybe I am just klutzy, but I tend to walk right out of slides, and I get tired of trying to hold my shoes on by squeezing my toes. I do keep flip flops by the door so that they are easy to slip on when I go outside to get the mail or water plants, but I rarely wear them anywhere. I can't seem to walk without making the slapping sound, which annoys me. Heels over 2 inches make my feet and back hurt. I will wear them on special occasions, but not if I have to do much walking. I have seen plenty of women fall while trying to walk in silly shoes, and I don't want to risk it. My shoes must be comfortable first, cute second.

Jewelry. I like necklaces and earrings and my ears are pierced, but I think of jewelry more as apparel than jewels, just part of an outfit. I buy a lot of clearance jewelry, and none of it is REAL jewelry. I do have a few pair of sterling silver earrings, but it's all costume jewelry. The only REAL jewelry I own is the ring that was Merle's grandmother's. It has little flowers made of rubies and diamonds. I use it as a wedding ring since I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring years ago. It is probably not super valuable, but I still worry a lot about losing it. I take it off at night, and in the middle of the night I will feel that it's not there, and think "Oh, no! I lost my ring!" One piece of jewelry is enough to worry about, I don't want any more. One of my friends always notices if I forget to wear my ring (I don't wear it at home, so sometimes I forget to put it on when I go out.) I almost never notice other women's rings. She had to point out her new one. Another friend's husband got her a ring with lots of diamonds. It was important to her to have a "nice" piece of jewelry. She had to tell me about it because I hadn't noticed. It's not only something I am content to live without, I really don't WANT expensive jewels. I don't feel any less loved or important without them. When I lose a costume jewelry earring, or a necklace breaks, I'm sad because I liked it, but if it were expensive and that happened, I would be very upset.

Cars. An ex relative and her sister were discussing vehicles one day and I heard them say that they wouldn't be caught dead driving mini-vans. Huh? I LOVE my mini-van!! What's not to love about it? I like sitting up high and having clear views out of my windows. I can haul plenty of people in addition to cargo. We often remove the seats and use it like a truck. Mark, our oldest is moving into an apartment this weekend. What would we do without the mini-van?? Mine is a 1998, so it will soon be 10 years old, but it runs great. Merle said recently that he'd like to get me a newer one, but I am just fine with this one. Other people may not think my car is cool, but I love it, except for maybe the missing hubcap.

Houses and furnishings. One of my friends has been looking at houses. The style of it is really important to her. Sure, I want my house to look inviting, but I care WAY MORE what the floor plan and space looks like on the inside than what style it is on the outside. My furniture is garage sale and hand me downs, and would be considered out of date, but I don't mind. I'd like to think that I have an ability to combine a lot of worthless stuff and make it welcoming and appealing. I think I have a gift of hospitality, and I'm not at all embarrassed that I don't have the latest and greatest.

I guess what it all comes down to is appearances. For the most part, appearances mean little to me. I know first impressions are important and that we probably do get a feeling about what a person is like from those initial encounters. So, I guess you would probably look at me and say "practical and thrifty." And you'd be right. Hopefully you'd also add "kind and friendly" and maybe even "attractive in her own way." You definitely wouldn't say "cool" or "sophisticated". Yes, I feel like I march to the beat of a different drummer, and I'm totally OK with that.