What a morning!

Hi all

This morning I was all set to write, but somehow I couldn't settle.  So I decided to return my younger daughter's school trousers to the shop where I bought them because they are too big.   It would have to be done some day, I reasoned, so why not today?  I felt guilty all the way to the shops though, because I had been determined to do some serious work at home.  I hadn't even walked the dog before I left, which made me feel even worse.

Anyway.  Got to the shop, got the money refunded to my credit card.  Went downstairs to see if they had any better fitting trousers.  Found all the school uniform reduced to one pound!  Bought a cardigan, two pairs of trousers and two skirts for a fiver.  If this stuff doesn't fit I will just give it to friends - I know she will love the cardigan anyway.

So far, so good.  I was starting to feel that things were going my way.  My foot was hurting a lot though, there was a lot of pus building up under the surface (sorry!) and although I had soaked it in hot water early this morning  hoping it would pop to relieve the pressure, it hadn't.  I had taken Ibuprofen but it wasn't an awful lot of help.

I decided that since I was out anyway I would go to another shop to get some new shoes.  I had come to the conclusion that the ones I have been wearing, which are designed to promote fitness, are perhaps not the right shoes to wear when bones are healing.  They rock you as you walk, and although they have been feeling comfortable enough I decided to change them for something that keeps the feet more steady.

So I went to the shoe shop and tried on about ten different pairs of shoes.  I mostly tried the left shoe on, but if I liked it I tried the right one too (which was painful but necessary).  All the ones I tried were sensible trainer type things with hard soles so that I can drive in them.  But none were quite right.

I was getting tired and just about to give up when I finally found the shoes I wanted in the right size.  Phew.  Just about to go and pay, but then couldn't resist having a peek at my foot to see how it was.  And - aagh! - it had opened and there was a huge bubble of pus and blood resting on the surface.  I had no tissues.  There were no shop assistants in sight.  And I really didn't want to put my sock and shoe back on with all that happening.  I badly needed a tissue to dab away the mess.

I looked around.  There were two men nearby, one browsing, the other trying on shoes.  Neither of them looked as though they would have a tissue.  Then a lady hove into sight - in her fifties, very smart, blonde.  I called out to her (bright red with embarrassment), 'Excuse me! Can you help me please?'

She looked suspicious, but must have decided I was safe enough, because she came over.  And when she saw my foot she realised I wasn't mucking about.  She got out her handbag, and found me a tissue.  Then she delved deeper into the bag and found me a plaster.  And then she produced a wet wipe and gave it to me to clean my hands with.  And then she went off, having checked first that I was now ok.

I went to the till to pay for my shoes.  I was standing in the queue, reflecting on how lucky I was to have hailed a lady who not only had a tissue, but also a plaster, and also a cleansing wipe.  What were the chances?  I had thanked her of course, but  had been maybe a bit too engrossed in me to realise just how lucky I was.

Then she appeared in the queue behind me.  I thanked her again.  And she put into words what I had been thinking - that sometimes things happen for a reason, that she had been able to help me and maybe something had called her to where I was (she wasn't shopping for shoes, this was a big store that sold all sorts of stuff).

So - a good morning.  Comfortable new shoes, bargain new school uniform.  A foot that was agony a few hours ago now doesn't hurt  at all.  Now I can eat and then take my sweet patient dog for a walk.  Lovely.

Louise x