Shoe on the road

Once upon a time, a pair of well-loved Rainbow sandals went on an African adventure. On a dark and stormy night, the truck carrying the suitcase in which the sandals were riding, turned over in the rain, scattering luggage and clothes--as well as the sandals--all over the side of a small dirt road in Kenya. Though many of the items were eventually returned to their owners, many things were mixed up, given to the wrong people and, sadly, many possessions were just plain lost.

Poor Mr. Left Rainbow Sandal was among the items safely returned to me...but, sadly, his twin was lost in the accident, the whereabouts a mystery to everyone. We searched through all the returned luggage, through everyone's belongings in hopes of finding Mr. Right Rainbow, to no avail.
That was five months ago.
Oddly enough, I have kept Mr. Left Rainbow all this time--in crazy hopes, I guess, that one day, his mate would show up. Though I often thought of throwing him out, I realized that seeing that shoe alone in my closet was a reminder of how wonderful those days in Kenya were--especially those first few days of no suitcases, of borrowing each others' clothes and of how we all quickly realized that it was such a minor inconvenience compared to the tasks we were to carry out in Kenya. Mr. Left Rainbow made me smile each time I saw him in my closet. Truly.

Last Friday night, I saw my friend, sweet Caroline at our Kenya reunion. She came over to me and said, "Oh, guess what? I have your sandal at my house!" Caroline, who stayed through October in Kitale, went on to tell me the sandal 'miraculously' showed up one day! I couldn't believe it.
So guess what arrived in my mail today?
Mr. Right Rainbow Sandal--returning from his extended vacation! Amazing! After nearly FIVE months of separation, the shoes are together again!
I had since bought another pair, of course. But, no doubt, this pair will be in my possession for a long, long time.
These shoes will always have a very special story to tell. And, they will live happily ever after...

Hmm, do you think the moral of the story is...'never stop looking for Mr. Right'?