Many of us live where summer doesn’t last much longer than three months, which forces us to cope with the changing seasons. The end of summer can be the harshest of shifts for the Flip Flop Life.
For those still in school, the impact is two-fold, forcing you to deal with both the end of summer and the beginning of school. It just doesn’t seem fair. Don’t despair. While flip flops are most at home in summer there is a place for them year round – even in the midst of winter.
If you’re in college, the flip flop life transition can be less traumatic. However, college students over the centuries having done a wonderful job of lowering the bar of acceptable casual dress for future generations of college students. So do your part and pay it forward. No one will bat an eye if you show up to class in your favorite pair Hari Mari’s, Teva’s, Reef’s. This is a comfort as the days get shorter and colder and the nights get longer. You can even have some fun with your flip flop selection and get a pair decked out in your school colors and wear them to the football game to cheer on your team. The transition from Summer to fall will be much easier to handle.
“Man, the bears got this one right”
For those of us unfortunate enough to not be in college any longer the transition can be jarring. One day you’re out on Elliott Bay crabbing in your Hunter flop flops and soaking up the warm fresh Puget Sound air and the next it’s autumn. Now you’re forced to schlep to and from work in closed toed shoes while the days get shorter and colder. The changing leaves help a bit but your feet long for their flip flops. Yet the chill in the air, combined with the gray drizzle, make the very thought of wearing flip flops seem nuts. All you want to do is crawl into a warm dry cocoon and come out in spring. “Man, the bears got this one right”, you think to yourself. Hibernation seems like a stroke of brilliance. But that just isn’t an option for us.
This is exactly the time you need your flip flops the most. Throw on several layers of warm clothing from your ankles up to keep warm but, by God, wear your flip flops. Your constitution requires it. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of giving the middle finger to fall and strolling along a hiking trail littered with the red and orange freshly fallen leaves of autumn in a pair of Chaco Waypoint flip flops listening to Built to Spill and sipping a Manny’s. This is Life Done Right.
This is a great and powerful flip flop therapy, but it probably isn’t enough to get you through to spring, let alone summer. So, get online and book a trip to someplace warm, relaxing and wonderful. You don’t have to wait for the typical travel times that are guaranteed to be overcrowded with others like you desperate to see the sun. Pick a weekend, or better yet a week or two, and just book it.
Don’t fret if your trip is still weeks away and you’re not sure you can wait that long. Get out your suitcase and start packing. The majority of the things you’ll need on the trip won’t be used before you go. The act of packing, even if it’s weeks or months in advance, can be the perfect fall flip flop therapy.
Take your time, let the actual packing stretch out over days or even weeks – the longer the better. Mull over what to pack throughout the crisp fall days ahead while at the grocery store, the gym or trapped at work in long boring meeting after long boring meeting. You’ll find yourself eager and refreshed when you get home and excited to continue packing. Each pair of shorts, each t-shirt, each swimsuit is a delightful taste of what’s to come.
Most importantly, take some extra time and extra thought when selecting your flip flops. Be intentional. Review our family vacation travel article for inspiration and important considerations such as making sure to pack a “drinking pair” and a “doing shit pair” at the very least. Lay your flip flops out on the floor and try on each pair. Close your eyes and visualize yourself at the beach, on the boardwalk or at the pool-side bar in your flip flops.
Summer will arrive in due time
Spend a good deal of quality time in each pair – walking around the house, making dinner, running errands. Get to know each pair’s unique strengths and shortcomings. Let our flip flop reviews be your guide – be sure to actually drink the drink and listen to the music that we’ve carefully chosen to best go with each flip flop review. All the while being mindful of your upcoming get away. Before you know it, you’ll be there, in the sun, in your flip flops, warm, relaxed, and recharged – Doing Life Right.
Don’t fret when it comes time to leave and head back home. Revel in the fact that you are now that much closer to summer and ready to take on the rest of fall, winter and emerge into glorious spring and onto the doorstep of summer.
While, the changing seasons can cause Flip Flop Life consternation this doesn’t have to be a time of despair. Embrace the change of seasons and seek out opportunities to live the Flip Flop Life. We’ll be here for you all year long with flip flop reviews, flip flop advice and flip flop philosophy.
Summer will arrive in due time and when it does, you’ll enjoy it all the more knowing that it is fleeting. Rest assured, there is a flip flop for every season when you Do Life Right – Flip Flop Daily.
