I should have known better.  I NEVER pack only one pair of shoes when I travel.  EVER.  And yet this past weekend I did just that.  It was my fourth road-trip in a month’s time and I was tired of packing, so I thought, OH, I will just bring my Teva flip-flops, they are versatile enough. 

And then, in a strange kind of foreshadowing, I thought, “But what if something happens to one of my shoes?  Then I will be shoe-less!”  But I chose to ignore my inner voice and stick with just the Tevas.  After all, I had NEVER ever lost a shoe.

I should have listened to myself.

Let me tell you about these Teva flops.  They were a Mother’s Day gift from my husband because he HATED my choice of flip-flops.  I had two pairs that he named “ugly” and “moldy” (in my defense, the second pair are NOT moldy, just a kind of brown fabric that turned dark with use).  The Tevas quickly became my FAVORITE pair of shoes that I owned, period.  SOOOO comfy, and they are cuter than you can tell in the picture.  I wore them EVERYWHERE, and with everything, even things were NOT flip-flop attire.  I probably would have worn them to the White House.

By the way, TEVA brand was THE shoe back when I was in college.  EVERYONE wore Teva sandals for outdoor activities.  Yet this weekend my college-age brother and sister were like, “What’s TEVA?”  What’s TEVA?!?    *thunk* I feel old.

So we traveled to my Dad’s place on the river and and set off to play on the motorboat.  I REALLY wanted to knee-board.  I don’t remember the last time I got to show off my skills… pre-babies, perhaps?  My sister bravely decided to be first and test the water for jellyfish.  She leaped into the water and immediately got one wrapped around her FACE.  I saw it draped across her neck.  OW.  There must have been a scramble and lots of movement because when the chaos was all over I could only find one shoe.  My FAVORITE shoe.     

SHOE OVERBOAAAAARD!!!!  I was heartbroken.  We spent half and hour trolling in circles (and whipping various people around in the inner tube behind the boat) looking for the shoe until we realized we were wasting so much gas ($4/gallon!) I could BUY another pair for cheaper.  I painfully walked up the hill to the house BAREFOOT.  Ow.  (Stick.)  Ow.  (Pinecone.)  OW!  (Holly leaf!)  

Poor me!  STUPID me!  Why the heck did I pack only one pair of shoes!  I seriously NEVER do that!!  I usually even pack extra shoes for just DAY-TRIPS!  

And WHAT were the chances that the FIRST and only time I have ever lost a shoe would be the one time I have ONLY. ONE. PAIR!!!???!!!   

What in the world would I do?  We were in the COUNTRY on July 4th.  Cornfields galore.  Not like I can pop up to Payless and snatch up a pair of shoes.  My stepmother kindly rummaged around and gave me a mostly new pair of Crocs that my grandma didn’t want. 

Crocs.  The shoes I swore I would NEVER own.  The shoes I made soooo much fun of.  I mean, come on, they look ridiculous.  But at least I am not barefoot.  Who knew Crocs could make me so very happy?  I had never been so glad to look so ridiculous.  And so I post the lolcat picture in honor of my new shoes.

But if you find a black flip-flop floating in the water somewhere PLEASE let me know!