One Flip

I wear flip flops most of the year. I have a favorite pair that seem to go with most of my casual attire. They are grey rubber, and were only $12.00. A few months ago, I noticed that I only had one of the flip flops and could not seem to locate the other.

Each time I wanted to slip on my favorite flip flops for a quick jaunt to the grocery store, or trip to drop off kids for school, I sighed, grabbing my second favorite pair of flips and wondering where the missing flip flop was located.

Each time I entered the closet I would search a little more for the flip flop. I would dig through my husbands shoes, lift up boxes, and shuffle around the clothes hamper hoping to discover my right, grey flip flop, but no flip flop was ever found.

I contemplated giving up and tossing the left flip flop into the garbage. After all, why keep one shoe? The bigger question is: How long does one keep one shoe while searching for the other shoe? A few days? A few weeks? A few months? Is a year the limit, then into the garbage it goes? It's hard to say.

I waited, searched, probed, searched some more, lifted, looked, and sighed some more. No shoe.

Winter got colder, and rain entered our days, so I tucked the lone flip flop into the depths of my closet and forgot about it for weeks.

At Christmas time I collected all of the framed photos which sit on my mantel and living room table to make room for holiday decorations. As I shoved the frames underneath my bed, I spotted a dark shadow toward the middle of the carpet. I reached as far as my arm would go, and felt the cold rubber, of a dusty flip flop.

The joy which came from finding the missing shoe was short lived. I had no doubt that because of my "everything that sits longer than a week must be tossed in the garbage" mentality, the lone closet dwelling flip flop was long gone, and my discovery would be null and void.

I lifted the shoe from beneath my bed and sauntered to the closet. Wincing as I pushed around a pair of boots, sneakers, and sandals. My hope diminished as I was unable to find one grey flip flop to complete the pair.

Just as I was about to give up, there it was, buried under the rubble of running shoes and slippers, sitting dusty and alone. I broke into a funky dance, and united the two grey flip flops. Once again, they were a couple. My favorite flip flops were reunited.

There is such great reward in finding lost items, especially when they are mine.

Comments

Lisa said…
i want to live somewhere where you can wear flip-flops all year around.

except i'm also sitting here in my classroom before the kids come in and praying for snow.

:O)