Think about your group of friends for a minute. I don’t mean ladies whom you chat with at work or simply know in passing; I mean real actual friends. The girls that you can count on. The girls that know your secrets. The girls you trust. Now I have a question for you…
THE STORY
…How old are they? Are they all in the same age group as you or do you spread the love throughout the generations? I’ve mulled this topic over before, but never got around to writing about it. Last night I listened to an interview with Catherine McCormick and Kathy Kaehler from The Fierce Fifty in which they touched on the relationships between Millenials and those of us with a bit more life experience under our belts and it got me thinking about it again.
Most of my adult life I have had friends that span a variety of ages. I have always been drawn to women older than myself, and I think perhaps that’s due in part to losing my mom at such a young age. I think my soul yearned for the wisdom and experience that only an older voice could provide. Most of my tribe is pretty close to my age and I still have a number of friends who are older than I am, but I have also added some girls to the party who are young enough to be my daughters.
If you don’t have younger friends in your circle, you might be thinking “What could I possibly have in common with a twenty-something?” The answer to that is plenty. Yes, they are in an entirely different place in life; we’re just settling in to being our fabulous selves now that our kids are grown, they are having babies; we have learned that love is even better over time or perhaps we’re better on our own, they are planning weddings. That is the beauty of it. We get the opportunity to share in the excitement of their new beginnings and they in turn can learn from someone who has been exactly where they are and therefore gets it.
Just like your friends who were born in the same decade as you, younger friends can be a sounding board for your thoughts and ideas. They too can offer advice and support, but from an entirely different perspective. Seriously, can’t we all use a change in perspective once in awhile? And think about the exchange of ideas…we can share the wisdom gained from lessons learned the hard way. We can show them the world through our eyes. We can be living proof that there is no freakin’ expiration date on cool and that the important thing is to live life on your own terms.
In turn, our younger friends can teach us about so many things; the world they grew up in does not even remotely resemble the one that we grew up in. They can help us to be more open-minded and accepting of differences. They have never known a time where hiding your sexual identity was a matter of life and death, or a time when a black man being our President was unheard of. They cannot conceive of a life without technology whereas for us “high tech” meant we had a phone that wasn’t attached to the wall in the kitchen.
Perhaps most importantly, kindred spirits have no age limits. How tragic would it be to miss out on a truly beautiful friendship simply because you viewed someone as “just a kid”? If you haven’t already, maybe it’s time to add some diversity to your tribe.
THE OUTFIT
Oh…these red block heel sandals…I’m pretty sure I could be wearing a burlap sack and look fabulous if I paired it with these sandals. Here’s a surprising fact: while it’s true I have a pair of pretty spectacular red lace up flats, I do not have red pumps nor did I have red sandals. That my friends, could not go unremedied. Enter these beauties. The block heel is solid and not crazy high thus making them actually comfortable for my angry little bunion foot. Like I said last week, I will be wearing every pair of heels I can between now and the surgery in May.
Another new love of mine are these chambray joggers which I also have in a lighter wash, and coincidentally last week paired them with the nude version of the sandals. Since the weather is now staying on the warm side, it was time to free the lighter weight tops from their Winter hideout. I went with this floral print lace up top because the red in the print echoed the red in the footwear. Make sense?
THE TIP
Last week I suggested getting yourself a pair of comfortable strappy nude heels. By the same token, a really stand out pair of red sandals will provide you with so many styling options. Don’t shy away from the brightness; they are the perfect way to add some pizazz to an outfit without feeling like you’re going over the top.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Top: Shein (Similar); Pants: JCPenney; Sandals: JCPenney; Clutch: Walmart (Similar)
