"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong..." Throughout my travels, and let's be honest - throughout my LIFE, I've often caught myself singing this little song:
I love trying new things, and, as usually happens, new things bring about the strangest of combinations...
This weekend I went to my first ever Mary Kay Career Conference! It was full of new ideas, lots of yelling, the most blingin' bling I've ever seen in my life (and I worked at CHICOS!), and best of all, the most normal-looking women I've ever seen in my life. I half expected to face a roomful of living dollies, but everyone was delightfully human.* Never one to shirk a dress code, I attended in my Mary Kay finest, wearing a White House Black Market skirt and top, suit jacket, comfy pumps,** and black nylons with a sexy seam up the back, because why not? We had a morning of cheering, inspirational speeches and handy tips before getting a nice, long lunch break.
My inner introvert grinned and waved as I left a group of lovely ladies oogling a pink cadillac to go find coffee. Real coffee. Quality coffee. Luckily, I was in Eugene. I walked up to a young couple walking their dogs in Birkenstocks, crop pants and parkas. "Could you tell me where the best coffee is within walking distance?" The guy flinched slightly in surprise that the power suit was talking to him, but the woman recognized me as one of them; after all, we WERE standing next to a Dutch Bros. In no uncertain terms she told me exactly where to go.
I was about a block away when a few canvas awnings caught my eye....farmer's market - score! The local-loving, Franciscan inspired, organic, just-let-me-escape-this-industrial-world-and-carve-a-life-from-a-mountainside part of me rerouted my inner Siri toward the collection of stunning local produce and people with curly hair.*** I was just doing what I do....to the side glances and surprised looks of people with thick glasses and reusable cloth grocery sacks. "One of these things is not like the others...." and that thing was ME! Okay fine. Browsing gourmet kale outside on a Saturday morning in patent leather stilettos isn't exactly the norm. I bought a gorgeous leek about a foot and a half long - I kid you not, it was the most beautiful leek I've ever seen - and headed off to the coffee shop.
First I tried to enter through the back door, which turned out to be an office building. A helpful stranger told me to swipe my keycard. I had to explain that despite the power suit I was actually clueless and hunting for some coffee. Once inside the shop I kept getting strange looks, half due to my clothes, and half because I actually understood what I was talking about in coffee speak. Locally roasted beans, bittersweet chocolate ganache, and coconut milk topped with a curl of peel carved from an orange poised atop the espresso bar, combined to perfection in a cup. It was mine, divine, and every sip was savored. After a lovely chat with a stranger about the joys and challenges of a paleo diet, I headed back to the convention center.
And faced a new dilemma.
I arrived precisely in time to hear the last session of speakers. Precisely, meaning that I had no time to drop off my winner of a leek in the car. So what can you do? "One of these things, is not like the others...." I hiked my purse up on my shoulder, a good 8 inches of fragrant, green produce poking out over the top. I took one last sip of orange infused goodness, and marched into the ranks of carefully coiffed Mary Kay beauty consultants.
Carrying produce into a conference hall ranks high on the list of awkward things I've done. Worse, however, is sitting in a crowded group of women and smelling inexplicably of onions. I introduced my leek to my seat mates.
"Hey Karen! Yes, there IS a leek in my purse."
"There's a leak in your purse? Do you need a napkin?"
"No, not a leak, a leek. Like, LEEK, leek."
"Oh, like an actual leek...."
One of these things is not like the others....
Honestly, I loved it. I love it when such completely different facets of me coexist in such unexpected moments. Why walk past the market because of the shoes? Why avoid the meeting because of the fresh greens? It's all a part of me, whether or not it's expected in my current venue. The suit might not belong, but I do. The excitement over agrarian living may not belong, but I do. It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 9, where Paul talks about 'being all things to all people,' living many lifestyles well in order to reach many. What a delightful mix of seeming contradictions.
*The truth is, I've been a little nervous about this venture, mostly nervous that my friends and family will think I've morphed into the pushy and crazed mlm-lady who forgets to be a person.
**We live in the 21st century. Congratulations, comfy pumps are actually a thing!
***Why is it that people who live 'organically' always have curly hair? Where are all the straight-haired people? It must be nature's way of rewarding those who live pesticide-free. Dear Mother Nature, I think I've earned my perm now.
