Great News

You might find this post odd, even disgusting, but if you have ever lost a toenail, you understand its blogworthiness.

It all began July 9, 2006. My team was on our way out of Brazil, stopped in Sao Paulo for our 12 hour layover. We had tearfully left our friends in Natal only to be greeted in SP with the news that, due to the bankruptcy of the airline we were supposed to fly home on, we had no flight to the US. A 12 hour layover quickly became the biggest blessing in the world, giving us ample time to figure out how we would get home. For 6 hours we traversed back and forth across the three terminals, going from airline to airline, repeatedly being told how unfortunate it was that we had no tickets to get on their planes. For 6 hours.

6 hours.

In what I recall to be about hour 3, we realized how much time we were wasting by pulling our luggage behind us. Did I mention that this particular day happened to be the day of the World Cup final? Gaggles of people were crowded around every single TV in the terminals, which made navigating our way around the airport for 12 hours pretty awesome. Anyway, in hour 3 we stopped to pick up some luggage carts to make our adventure easier. As I hoisted my big ol' bag up on my luggage cart, it happened to catch my big toe nail on my right foot and pleasantly detach it from my toe. However, because the injury gods knew how fantastic of a day we were already having, the nail did not come off entirely, only enough to bleed profusely and hurt for the next 9 and half months.

If you're doing some quick math, 9 and half months from July 9, 2006 happens to put us at about...today.

If you're wondering what other kinds of things happen in a span of 9 and half months, allow me to share the things I've thought of for the last 9 and half months:

• the conception, development, and birth of a child
• 2 semesters of school plus breaks
  
• Fall, Winter, Spring
• Winter, Spring, Summer
• Spring, Summer, Fall
• Summer, Fall, Winter
• the life cycle of a big toe toenail
  

So this past weekend. My little toenail has been diligently growing out, viciously shoving its late counterpart into the light and away from life. I've nurtured this little thing, protected it from further injury, nursed it when it got stepped on. Last Friday I cut off what seems to be the last remaining parts left over from that fateful day in July. And this, my friends, is GREAT NEWS.

If you take a moral from this tale, which I hope you do, it is to always, always, travel in close-toed shoes.

If you're entirely sicked out and never want to visit my blog again, I apologize, and promise to not write a follow-up entry about how this was actually the second time in my life to lose this particular toenail. Oh, 6th grade science camp...