The Day My Ankle Went on Strike

I had a job interview downtown. This should have been a relatively straightforward event.

Get dressed. Put on my heels. Drive downtown. Find the building. Impress the potential employer. Get the job.

Simple.

Apparently, my ankle had other career plans.

I started out walking just fine. Then I got turned around trying to find the building. And somewhere along the way, my ankle decided it had had enough.

Suddenly, I was staggering through downtown at 10 in the morning.

I probably looked drunk. I wasn’t. I was just trying to convince my ankle that we had somewhere important to be.

And then things got dangerous.

I was walking through a crosswalk when I fell.

Fortunately, a couple of people saw me go down and immediately ran out, waving their arms to stop traffic. They helped me safely to the sidewalk, where I was able to sit for a few minutes and collect myself.

I was embarrassed. I was scared. And I was incredibly grateful.

But I still had a job interview.

So, after a little while, I got myself back up and continued on. I made it to the interview. And, because apparently my ankle wasn’t finished making its point, it decided to act up again.

At that point, I had had enough. So I did what any reasonable person would do.

I took off my shoes. And I walked barefoot back to my car.

As I passed a garbage can, I made another executive decision.

The shoes went in.

Yep. I threw my shoes away. At that point, they had clearly contributed enough to the situation. Relationship terminated.

I finally made it back to my car. Humiliated. Scared. Grateful for the strangers who had helped me. And wondering what on earth the potential employer must have thought.

But here’s the part I didn’t expect.

They were actually interested in me. Despite my crazy morning. Despite the fact that I had nearly been run over in a crosswalk. Despite the fact that my ankle had apparently decided to sabotage my career.

They saw something beyond the morning I’d had.

I didn’t get that particular job. But I walked away from that experience with something I didn’t expect.

A reminder that one bad moment doesn’t define you. And neither does the way your body behaves on a bad day.

Sometimes things go completely sideways. Sometimes your body decides to go on strike. Sometimes strangers step in and remind you that people can be incredibly kind.

And sometimes… you just have to throw your shoes in the garbage and keep going.

A little perspective

I’ve thought about that day many times since. At the time, I mostly felt embarrassed. Now I see it a little differently.

I remember the people who stopped traffic to help me. I remember that I still went to the interview. And I remember that I kept going even though the morning had gone nothing like I planned.

That feels more important than the shoes.

Although, honestly… those shoes had to go. They were clearly part of the problem.

Your turn

Have you ever had one of those days where absolutely nothing went according to plan? Maybe your body had other ideas. Maybe your brain went on vacation. Maybe you simply reached the point where you had to laugh or cry.

I’d love to hear about it. Email us at info@phoenixckk.com.

Because sometimes the stories that feel the most embarrassing in the moment become the ones we laugh about later.