Mis Chanclas

I was visiting with my friend this past week, and I'm not too sure what we were talking about, but the saying 'la chancla que yo tiro, no la vuelo levantar' came up. Yes, I did grow up on the west side and attended la martin but I hadn't heard it before. It was fitting for the occasion but really, how true is it?

I ain't getting rid of these chanclas any time soon....no, I don't have an attachment issue

I have my favorite chanclitas. I've had them for a while and the thought of throwing them away makes me wonder if I could ever find another pair like them. I've had to wash them more than a couple of times, and there have been mornings when I'm hesitant to put them on for fear of there being a spider waiting to attack my big toe, Arachnophobia-style. I guess that movie left an impact from way back when.

Anyways, let's dissect this here phrase, middle-school-English-class style. It's not referring to any tangible article of shoe wear. It's talking about once something is let go, not going back to 'pick' it up (i.e. leave it in the past and not bring it to the future).  I guess the topic of conversation, that gave birth to that moment of clarity, was relationships. We weren't necessarily talking about romantic relationships, more like relationships in general.

How many times do people say 'Ya, it's over. I'm gonna let go and not go back to that again'? Then the next time you run into them, they're still in the same exact situation you left them in. It's more than just stubbornness and not knowing when to let go. It's all about hope...and the fact that it's familiar.

We're hopeful creatures by nature. I'm speaking generally, here. El dicho, la esperanza el lo ultimo que se pierde, can pretty much sum it all up. Most people hang on to the glimmer of hope that one day, it'll be different. One day it'll make sense and all the obstacles fought through will  have been for the best. Uh, sometimes, most of the time, it won't be like that. Sometimes it is better to let the chancla lay where it may fall and never go back to pick it up again. Familiarity also makes the bond to any negative relationship stronger. Everyone is weary of change; no matter how stagnant the relationship, it's easier to stay there because one already knows how it is...and how it's gonna be. Rarely is this the most healthy choice for any sane person.

It's not so much that I'm a pessimist, nor a realist, just an experienced person who has thrown her own chanclas and gone back to pick them up again. I understand, the what if's are tough pills to swallow. And there really is nothing better than experience to deter you from ever making the same decision again (in most cases, not necessarily all).

I just thought the saying was pretty cool and it came at a time cuando me cayo el saco. I've been cleaning out my internal closet lately and there's been a lot of stuff that I've thrown out. Those proverbial chanclas are already in the trash pile and I'm working on not taking them out again. Yea, they're comfortable but there's nothing wrong with change. Perhaps a new pair will give me more support. A new pair might add a lil pep to my step.

Quien sabe, pero por horita, I'm gonna leave you with this here song. I know Antonio Aguilar was probably the first artist to sing the chancla song but I like Ana Gabriel's rendition better (do you really have to ask?).

'Un orgullo solo tengo

Que a naiden le se rogar

Que la chancla que yo tiro

No la vuelvo levantar'