The Walk of Shame

We're all familiar with the phrase "the walk of shame," some more than others. You know that walk. The one that happens the morning after a night of whoopee that you weren't quite expecting to be an entire night of whoopee. So then you end up skulking out of Mr. Man's place at 7 a.m. in your yesterday clothes, your bra in your purse and no makeup except maybe some well deserved chapstick, hoping you don't bump into any of his neighbors on the way out to your car--wherever that is at this point. You're not even sure. Did you drive to his place, or did you leave yours on the street near the bar all night? You might still be a little foggy about how all this went down last night. Worst than running into his neighbors is the possibility of running into yours as you pull into your driveway and greet them on their way out to work. Not that they are your parents or anything, but even so, it's just plain embarrassing.

What might be more embarrassing is if you don't have time to go home before work and you show up at the office in, yessiree Bob, yesterday's outfit! This little scenario happened to one of the women in my office...more than once. It's a small office. Unless one of us is hiding at her desk all day, we're going to see each other and probably notice what we are wearing, because we are women, after all.

Let me just clarify, this woman is not a complete tramp, a trollop or tart. She is actually dating someone. She just happens to be really bad at planning ahead. The first time this sort of incident occurred she showed up in the exact same outfit, of course. What was she to do? The second time it happened (today) she stands in front of me saying "does it look like I wore this outfit yesterday?" Now I recalled her wearing a flowy flowery skirt, but that's really all I remembered about her outfit yesterday. I chuckled knowing what she meant and suggested she start buying clothes she could turn inside out. At that point, she turned the hem of her skirt up to show me the side she was wearing yesterday. She had actually worn a skirt she could turn inside out! One of our colleagues suggested she could hoist the waistband of the skirt up over her boobs and wear it like a strapless dress tomorrow should she find herself in the same predicament for a third time.

Another woman advised her to start buying travel clothing that can be tightly rolled up to fit snugly into an evening purse or handbag. No ironing necessary! Or maybe it'd be to her benefit if she worked with women her same size so they could swap clothes once at the office.

I suggested she tell her fella she needs a drawer.

At one point there was a comment about what would happen if I got lucky tonight and had to slink into the office wearing the same outfit. There was a very slight pause before we all agreed I'd be strutting through the office pointing out that I was, in fact, wearing the same outfit as the day before. It's been a looooong time since these shoes have treaded down the path of shame.
And I'm kind of glad my friend at the office has no shame, as her behavior provides so much entertainment for the rest of us walking the straight and narrow.

A Happy Soul

November 2nd - All Souls' Day. This is a day set aside for remembrance of the beloveds who no longer share our lives with us here on earth. It sounds a little heavy, especially right after All Saints Day and All Hallow's Eve. Busy weekend actually. My parents' ashes are buried up north and visiting the cemetery wasn't possible for me today. But no matter. I still took a few moments out of my day to think of them, as I do most days actually, along with many others in my life who have passed on, including those special furry friends that treated me so well over the years. All Souls' Day really means "ALL" souls.

While that may sound depressing for some, it really isn't. It's actually a really good day to take a good look at your own soul and remind yourself to nurture it regularly. November is my least favorite month of the twelve. Always has been. I'm not sure if it's the weather, the time change (although that extra hour yesterday was rather nice and sorely needed after our All Hallow's Eve celebration), the darkness, the fact that all I really want to do is sleep, but I'm too busy for more sleep, or the weather...ooops, I said that already, didn't I? In any case, I am taking extra care with my soul this month, because I think it's going to need it.

For me that means more yoga sessions (at the studio not just in my livingroom with the noisy neighbors upstairs distracting my Zen mood), more homecooked meals (my crockpot is fired up), more herbal teas, more laughter, watching more movies and, yes, more sleep.

So take a few moments to honor those who've passed on and then, even more importantly, take a few extra moments to honor your own soul and promise to do what keeps it happy in these coming dark and crazy-making months that are sure to be full of challenges, as well as (sometimes hidden) rewards.

I opened the month with my favorite movie of all time, Breakfast at Tiffany's. I just love Holly Golightly's zest for life and adventure, not to mention her flare for fashion. But I can so relate to her lost soul in search of something that is right there in front of her. When "Fred Darling" tells her off and says it doesn't matter where she goes, she'll always keep running into herself, somehow that little speech really hit home for Wander Woman. Aahh.... the messages in these old films are so poignant.

My soul and I are off to bed with a cup of Chamomile, some pleasant reading and early sleeping.