About six months ago, my daughter Tyra decided and proclaimed to the world (or whomever would listen) that she is wearing Converse tennis shoes every day for the rest of her life.

And she was serious. Very serious.

As any good Mom would do, I told her that I support her but I needed her to understand that sometimes there will be days in her life that she may not be able to wear tennis shoes everyday. From the shrug of her shoulders and the roll of her eyes, I don’t think that went over so well.

And so we dropped the conversation until she had to get dressed up for an event at school. And then I had to hear how unfair it is that people can tell you what to and what not to wear to an event. Sigh. But we made it though that event sans the Converse.

Fast forward about three months and I am taking some time off the grid and every day hustle and bustle, allowing me to dress casual and comfy. Translation: if I make it out of my pajamas, I am in shorts and t-shirts. Right now, dressing up to me is a nice pair of capris, a cute top, and a pair of sandals or flats. And for the record, in the past three weeks, I’ve had to “dress up” twice. And I wore the exact same outfit both times.

And somehow y’all, I am now wearing Converse, every day. And I don’t want to change that.

 It’s so bad that I bought two new pair for myself while back to school shopping with the kids. My recent purchase  brought my converse collection to four pair. When I mentioned to my daughter that I could truly understand her love for the shoes now that I want to wear mine all the time, she looked dryly and said, “It’s a lifestyle mom. You don’t just decide one day to change your lifestyle all of a sudden.”

But y’all I beg to differ. I think that certain life events can encourage you to change your lifestyle — and as we all know — any lifestyle change requires commitment. Demonstrated commitment is what it takes to maintain a lifestyle change. Be it wearing converse, or eating healthy foods, or reading the Bible every day. Anything.

Now I do realize that I will not be able to wear my Converse every day. For me, though, the comfort and the diversity in the style and color of the shoes remind me to stop and appreciate life. Especially a life that you don’t need to escape from.

And that, my friends, we can all remember as we adjust our own lives, hopefully for the better, and with strong commitment.

Are you committed to any lifestyle changes for the better right now? What are they?