The Painted Toenails

The Painted Toenails--

Shopping.  There is an interesting subject.  We can shop for clothes, shoes, linens, dishes, pans, cars, hot tubs, flowers, fingernail polish, art work, jewelry, toys, hair products.  The list is truly endless.  And within each of those categories are subcategories.  We could honestly spend our entire lives shopping.  How depressing is that!

There are times when we must shop.  When the pantry shelves are empty, it is time to buy those food items we use each week.  When spring arrives after a long, cold winter, we shop for those plants and flowers that will give our homes a lift.  Children love to shop for toys.  Each toy they see needs to be touched.  They are happy to do that job.  Over time our cars wear out so car shopping becomes a necessity.  Different folks enjoy different types of shopping.

Personally, I don't enjoy shopping.  I go only when I need a certain item.  Even then I go to only the places where I am sure I might find what I need.  Shopping for shopping's sake is not my cup of tea.  The idea of a personal shoppper has great appeal to me.

However, there are times when shopping cannot be avoided.  This was one of those times even though I  have no clue now what the purpose for the trip was.  At some point during the trip, I needed to visit the ladies room.  That is the label on the door of this particular bathroom--Ladies Room.  This bathroom had sinks on two sides of the room.  Lovely touch.  Large mirrors and shelves.  Evidently a woman did the design.  Each toilet was in its own little room.  Walls touched the ceiling.  There was a built-in shelf for packages or purses.  Great finishing touches.

While the tops of the walls reached the ceiling, the bottom of each wall had a small open space.  Just enough for one woman to pass toilet paper under should that need arrive.  I selected my little room, entered, locked the door, placed my items on the shelf and went about my business.

At some point I looked down at the floor.  That is when a huge smile overtook my face.  Here is what I saw that made me smile.  On the floor in the next stall were two feet wearing open toe sandals.  That is not unusual.  What was unusual was the big toe of each foot wearing those sandals was painted with a white flower, stem and leaves.  It was beautiful.  The painting was done so that those looking at her toe saw the flower right-side-up.  The green stem and leaves were artfully painted to look as real as possible.  Whoever owned those feet had style!  She enjoyed being a little artsy.  No doubt she received many comments about those flower painted toenails.  Bet she smiled at each comment.

She was out the door before I had the opportunity to speak with her.  It was fun to imagine who she was, and what she was like as a person.   I imagined her to have a great sense of humor and a bright smile.  I wondered if she painted a different scene on her toenails each time she had a pedicure.  Did she do that herself?  Maybe she had the design idea and shared that with the person who did the actual painting.

I did not expect to be delighted that day.  My intent was to take care of the shopping as soon as possible.  One stop along the way brought giggles.  That speaks volumes.  Her self-expression reminded me that we are all capable of bringing smiles to others everyday.  It is not always necessary to speak to bring joy.  Simply by being ourselves and engaging others, we have the ability to brighten a rather ordinary day.  We don't have to have all the answers to life's questions to be helpful.  Her toes did not answer one question I had that day.  What did happen was my own attitude shifted.  It became lighter.

So, when you are out shopping, be prepared for anything.  You never know when you will be delighted.  Even in a ladies restroom!