Several years ago, I sent away for a pair of flip flops.
Now, you wouldn’t think a person would need to order flip flops through the mail, because you can buy them at almost every variety store. They are usually very inexpensive.
The ones I ordered cost $10, plus shipping and handling. However, they were advertised as being therapeutic for people with restless leg syndrome or legs with poor circulation. They had little plastic beads in the soles that massage the feet as a person walks.
The ad recommended that customers who wore a half size shoe order the next size flip flop, to ensure a good fit. So, since I wear a half size shoe, that is what I did.
When they arrived I tried them on, only to discover that they were a size too large. In retrospect, considering that flip flops have no toe or heel, a smaller size would have been plenty big enough. However, I am a simple person and I like to simplify my life. Returning the footwear would have only complicated it.
Since they did not fall off my feet when I walked, I thought they would be tolerable. And they have been. Although there has been many a time when I wish that they fit just a little bit tighter.
Fast forward to last Sunday. Sweetheart and I were on our way to the pot luck Thanksgiving dinner at church. I was taking the turkey—sliced and in a large pan, ready to be put in the oven when we got there. We were also taking a large casserole dish full of hot stuffing and a crockpot filled to the brim with hot, steaming gravy. Since the gravy was apt to fall over and spill, I decided the safest place for it was on the floor of the car, between my feet.
As usual, we were running late for the event. I wanted to get to the church early, so I could put the turkey in the oven to heat. Since we were 15 minutes behind schedule, I told Sweetheart not to lollygag as we drove to church.
Well, lo and behold! Sweetheart made a quick left turn at the first intersection. In the haste of the moment, I forgot that it was my job to keep the crockpot from tipping over. As a result, the crockpot tipped over. In fact, the crockpot fell, the lid fell off and gravy flew everywhere.
The gravy landed on the floor, my purse, the ankle boot that I was wearing and the sock that was in the boot. Did I tell you the gravy was steaming hot? It soaked through the sock onto my foot, causing great pain.
As a result, I got a second-degree burn on my foot, necessitating a trip to the emergency room (after dinner, of course) and a bandage on my foot. Now, my foot, with the bandage, would not fit inside my sock and boot (which was covered with gravy), or any shoe.
Well, lo and behold! I could get a fuzzy bed sock over the bandage, which fit nicely into the oversized flip flops. What appeared to be an unwise choice turned out to be a godsend. Who would have thought it?
Maybe, not-so-good choices can have good consequences far in the future. And, maybe we should look for the silver lining in every dark cloud.