Serendipity

Share This Post

Serendipity

Keep it Real Wednesday

November 16, 2022

Serendipity

One evening last week The Blessing Bike was invited to speak at a fancy function in downtown Boise.  As I was getting my clothes ready, I looked down at my dingy black shoes and knew it was time to go shoe shopping.  A memory of an old friend was circling in my head (RIP Adrienne) shaking her finger at me and saying “Jill, you always look nice enough, but you wear your shoes much too long.  Buy new shoes”.  This friend passed away years ago, but I think of her every single time I need to dress for an event.   

I double-checked my shoes. My closet was full of dingy scratched shoes, so I went shopping and treated myself to new shoes.

Thirty minutes before I had to run out the door for the evening, I took the new shoes out of the box and put them on my feet. The comfortable shoes I tried on at the store were now painful to walk in.  I couldn’t figure it out.  How in the world would I wear these standing for 4 hours tonight at this event? 

It was too late to go buy another pair. I walked around the house thinking maybe I can just break them in, but nothing worked.

I cried a tiny bit.

I know that sounds shallow. I cried over shoes.

Then, the tears quickly turned to out loud laughter as I realized I had the shoes on the WRONG FEET.

I laughed so hard with tears running down my face as I knew Rosemary was with me at that exact moment.

You see, she had a similar experience.

A few years back I was taking Rosemary to get her hair cut and was concerned about her lack of stability when walking even with her walker. I was worried she had another TIA or other medical event that was making her unstable, but she seemed otherwise okay.  I was watching her carefully and contemplating contacting her medical provider.

I decided to enlist the help of her hairdresser Jenn to see if I was overreacting.  Jenn also noticed Rosemary was a bit wobbly. Should I call the doctor’s office? Take her to the ER? 

Jenn had Rosemary sit down in the hair-washing station, lie back, and elevate her feet in the chair while we talked.  That’s when Jenn glanced down and noticed Rosemary’s sneakers were on the wrong feet.

We all laughed until we cried. 

It might be a simple coincidence that the same thing happened to me on a day when I was nervous and taking life a bit too seriously.

OR

Maybe, just maybe, it was Rosemary helping me make light of a stressful situation.

That evening from the podium, before I spoke, I looked down at my feet, took a deep breath, giggled a wee bit, and smiled at my shoes.

I am eternally grateful for the serendipity.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

View Our Other Stories & Blog Posts

"Blogging is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get."

It’s the PEOPLE

Keep it Real Wednesday September 27, 2023 It’s the people Yesterday I was riding my bicycle to meet a friend for coffee and reminiscing about

We’ve got you

Keep it Real Wednesday August 30, 2023 We’ve got you… I received the sweetest note last week that touched my heart tremendously. The note read

Let her jump

Keep it Real Wednesday July 26, 2023 Let her jump This past weekend Wade and I had the honor of spending 3 days on the

"Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving."

-Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2023 – The Blessing Bike, 501(c)(3) nonprofit – All Rights Reserved

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x