Many of you who have read my book ‘And The Winner Is’ tell me that you now live their lives in ‘Marty moments’. That is truly flattering because that is what I hoped would happen when I sat down and created the character of Martha Peters. For those of you who haven’t read the book and are not sure what this is exactly, ‘Marty moments’ are those little blip of time in your life where something chaotic, improbable, or embarrassing happens. Where you find yourself in an unpredictable situation and can laugh at yourself much later on, with a glass of wine, as you retell the story to your friends.
Although you may find yourself utterly mortified when those ‘Marty moments’ happen, the truth is those moments are the little gifts in life, the moments that make you reassess your priorities or that shifts your dreams and goals. For me, it’s the bend in the road, the blind spot, the uphill climb before you have yet to see the spectacular view from the top of a mountain. I guess that’s why I absolutely love Marty because we all have a part of her in each of us. We all struggle up that mountain and find ourselves in impossible situations but we still keep going, knowing that eventually it will make for a great story, eventually we’ll marvel at the view.
Sometimes I catch myself asking, “What would Marty do?” What would Marty do if the top of her bikini came off at the town pool? What would Marty do if she unintentionally let out a very loud burp at a meeting with her boss? What would Marty do if she congratulated a woman on the impending birth of her child when she isn’t really pregnant?
I know what she would do? She’d get up, brush herself off and keep going, hopefully learning from her mistakes but also not letting them get the better of her. I have to remember that the next time I walk out of a public restroom with toilet paper trailing out of my backside. Just enjoy the climb and wait for that view. I know, I know-easier said than done. But with practice, it gets better. At least, I hope it does.