Sometimes, quite unexpectedly, someone walks into your life and leaves an indelible impression. In a world full of technology, where it seems to be more and more about how many people like your page than how you actually connect with someone else, I am grateful to God that He has blessed me with a job that is all about connecting.
Those who know me know that I am truly a people person. “Hippie, flower-power, dreamy, floaty” I’ve heard all this more than once. I embrace my vagueness and I am allergic to everything that comes across as superficial. That is precisely why it took a long time before I could give in to the use of social media as a means to increase our reach.
In a world where the superficial seems to be gaining the upper hand, I’m extremely attracted to “real” people. The kind of people who are strong enough to make themselves vulnerable. People who, despite all their flaws, allow others emotionally and who dare to open themselves completely. People who don’t want to make things look more beautiful than they are, because they are aware of the fact that life can simply never be perfect. People who know that striving for perfection can actually stifle our emotional side. They embrace what happens to them and understand that it is not about the situation itself but how they deal with that situation. These people do not shy away from confrontation and do not ignore their emotions. They are open to self-reflection, even if it brings them face to face with their ugliest sides. They have guts and I admire that enormously!
Last Thursday she, the lady who is the subject of this blog, walked into my shop. I deliberately do not mention her name to protect her privacy. I did get her permission to share our special meeting with you. I had never met her before. Her mother-in-law, on the other hand, had been a customer of ours for years and came to pick up her order. The lady I dedicated this blog to came with her; a pleasant afternoon with her mother-in-law and ended in sweet tears in the middle of Kaftan Fes.
She had her beautiful daughter with her (may God protect her soul). There was something about the woman’s aura that made her attractive. Despite not wearing any makeup she had flawless skin which emphasized her natural beauty. Without saying another word she gave me a friendly look and my gut told me that this is a sincere person. She’s the kind of woman who really has no idea how much beauty she possesses. Later it would become clear why and I would better understand (the origin of) her negative self-image. I don’t remember how “our conversation” started. I remember at that time her mother-in-law was changing in the dressing room, having tried on her dress completely contentedly. I just had to adjust her belt. This one was just a little too tight for her. While I was doing that, I struck up a conversation with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
I must have said something that touched a nerve because while she was staring at her daughter she suddenly said “Oh well, I already got an STD from his cheating behavior.” Her honesty was so refreshing it startled me. Not because of the content, but because of how openly she spoke about it. I immediately understood that by ‘him’ she meant her husband. My first reaction was therefore “How honest of you! Most act as if everything is a piece of cake. As long as the outside world doesn’t know what’s really going on. Instead of working on the problems, they prefer to camouflage them.” As I say the words, I look at her admiringly. “No, I’m not like that. I can’t either. I have forgiven him for that, although I am still stalked almost daily by the lady with whom he had an affair. But I’ve always been honest about it. Also to my mother-in-law. She already knows the situation.” As she says the last word, she looks at her mother-in-law, who has already finished getting dressed and has joined us. Her mother-in-law looks at me and nods in agreement. I developed a deep respect for the mother-in-law because it was her son and she nevertheless understood that his feelings are less important than the feelings of her daughter-in-law in this situation.
“I have been stalked for a long time by a woman who claimed to be having an affair with my husband. She texted me saying that I can’t keep my husband with me and that my husband would find her more attractive than me. The strange thing is that this lady also seemed to know everything about me