I remember the day well. It was one of those times when everything goes right.
I took a shower and fixed my hair. It went just the way I wanted it to,
as it seldom does. I pulled on my new pink sweater,
giving me added color, since I need all the help I can get.
I pulled on my gray slacks and my taupe heels.
I checked the mirror and thought, Lookin' good!
Since it was a cool Michigan day, I slipped on my gray
trench coat with pink on the lapels. I was color-coded from head to toe.
When I arrived in downtown Brighton, where I intended to take care of
some errands, I was surprised to find heavy traffic.
Brighton is a small town, but it has a large
health food store. Usually, I can park right in front and run in.
But today business was so brisk I had to park two blocks away. When your attitude is right, and it's a great day, however, inconveniences and interruptions are no big deal.
I thought, I'll just bounce down the street in time to the sunshine.
I got out of the car, bounced down the street, crossed the road and entered the store.
As I headed toward the back of the store, I caught my reflection in the glass doors of the refrigeration system. It reaffirmed I was lookin' good. While enjoying my mirrored self, I noticed something was following me. I turned and realized it was my panty hose!
I remembered the night before when I had done a little Wonder Woman act and taken panty hose and slacks off in one fell swoop. This morning I put on new pantyhose and must have pushed the old panty hose through when I pulled on my slacks.
I believe they made their emergence as I bounced down the street in time to the sunshine. I remembered the truck driver who stopped his truck to let me cross. As I looked up, he was laughing, and I thought, Oh, look! The whole world is happy today!
So I waved. Little did I realize how much I was waving.
I assumed I had reached some amount of maturity by this time in my life, but I can honestly say that when I looked back and saw that...that...dangling participle, the thought that crossed my mind was, I am going to die!
I knew they were my pantyhose because the right foot was securely wrapped around my ankle. I knew it was secure because I tried to shake the thing off and pretend I had picked it up in the street.
It's amazing to me that we gals buy these things in flat little packages, we wear them once, and they grow. Now I had a mammoth handful of panty hose and no place to pitch them. The shelves were crowded with groceries, and my purse was too small and full, so I stuffed them in my coat pocket. They became a protruding hump on my right hip.
I decided to never leave that store. I knew all the store employees in town, and I figured that by now they would have all their employees at the windows waiting for a return parade.
I glanced cautiously around the store and noticed it was Senior Citizens' Day. They were having their blood pressures read, so I got in line to avoid having to leave the store.
The bad news was no one noticed I didn't belong in line. The good news was I had an elevated blood pressure reading. Usually the nurses take mine and say, "I'm sorry but you died two days ago." Today I registered well up the scale.
Finally I realized I'd have to leave. I slipped out the door, down the street, into my car and off for home.
All the way home I said, "I'LL NEVER TELL ANYONE I DID THIS!"
I made it home and got out of the car. My husband was in the yard raking.
I screamed,"DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DID?!"
He was so proud to know his wife had gone through town dragging her underwear. I told him I thought we should move---to another state---in the night. He thought that was extreme and suggested instead that for a while I could walk ten feet behind him. After thinking that through, we decided it should be ten feet in front of him so he could check me out.
If you have ever done anything to embarrass yourself, you know that the more you try not to think about it, the more it comes to you in living color. As I walked through my house, the replay of what I did came to me again and again.
At last I cried out to the Lord, "You take ashes and create beauty, but can You do anything with panty hose?"
