Wednesday, March 4, 2009

"little miss matched"

This morning we were visiting Summer's favorite toy store and we came across this interesting display. At first my mind was trying to come up with some ways that this may be representative of life and, while there probably are some parallels that could be drawn, I'm not so sure there's any real need to. Just let it be what it is... fun, interesting, unique... even if you're an "STJ" like me. (Google "Myers-Briggs personality profile" if you're not familiar with the "STJ" thing) 


As you can see, nothing matches... and you have to pay for it... and, in my mind, that's the genius of "little miss matched." Anyway, the mis-matchedness of the flip-flops is obvious. The socks? No pairs in this line... instead, you buy packs of three single socks... each, of course, being a little different from the others. There are shoelaces too and they come in pairs, but they are, you guessed it, totally contrasting in color and pattern.

No, we didn't buy anything. It would create problems for my "STJ" self. Okay, not really, but Summer did go thru a phase several months ago when she wanted to wear different shoes at the same time... her favorite combo was a sneaker on one foot and a sandal on the other... and, yes, I let go of my dumb hang-ups and actually found it quite endearing... but she outgrew that pretty quickly... her thing now is pants or jeans or leggings under dresses and skirts... and she's pretty adamant about it... I'm telling you, this kid likes to style it up!

Ok, so how can I not mention just one life parallel?

I kind of feel like we're all somewhat preoccupied with "matching" everything perfectly, i.e., presenting ourselves in such a way as to give the perception that we've got everything together. And yet, if we're honest, we are more "little miss matched" than Prada or Armani or Kenneth Cole or Claiborne or Ralph or whatever.

I wonder how much our stress levels would subside if we would just adopt Summer's fashion whims when it comes to how we present our mis-matched selves... just let us be what we is... and, please, forgive the grammar. 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

And what type is Nicol? :)

Greg Sponberg [sponbergfamily@gmail.com] said...

Nicol's type??? "NFP"... which in Myers-Briggs lingo means she is the complete opposite of me... or me of her... either way, we fall on different ends of the personality tendencies spectrum... in extreme measures I might add... several years ago a friend in Chicago, who leads Myers-Briggs seminars, told us "you're perfect for each other, you just don't know it yet" after we got the results of our profile assessment... it's true... and I'm guessing that since someone asked about Nicol's type there's at least one other person out there who can relate to "opposites attract." [ :-) ] (FROM GREG)

Ang said...

Gosh if that is the new trend then my girls will be runway models. Do you get bonus points if the dress is on inside out and the princess jammies are over top of that?
Ang

WendyCarole said...

It all looks great fun. But I think I might have a conflict with it

sheila said...

Hey Greg,
I would have to say Summer comes from a long line of burgeoning fashionistas that run in our family:) Amy, Hollie, Krista, and well, let's just say we all have fond memories of some of my more memorable ensambles. Sorry, that probably just caused you to break out in a cold sweat, I am sure
Summer will find other avenues for her creativity. (ha, ha) all my love Sheila

MaRia said...

Are you an I or an E for that last category on the test?

Just curious!

:)

Anonymous said...

You have a great point of letting our less than perfect selfs show. I am always one to put on a happy face and I'm just fine attitude. As I am going through a very hard time right now I'm figuring out that this isn't always the way to be. In fact I believe it closes us off from reality, from being real to others, and because of that we often loose the opportunity to have others minister us and our needs.