Snail Nail

 So today's a special day... ok not so much "special" as it is an anniversary of sorts. Now if you ask my hubby he'll tell you it's the one year anniversary of us buying a plasma TV. But in actuality, there is another, more horrendous anniversary. One not for the squeamish. Ok brace yourself but this is the one year anniversary of me ripping off my big toe nail. Ouch, right? You ain't jokin. 

It started as a regular day. I was in the middle of my many domestic goddess duties when it happened. I had both kids napping (back when there was only two of them) and the littlest one sleeping in my room. I started a load of baby laundry and remembered I had a few extra stained things soaking in my bathroom sink. My thought was to run in there, grab them still wet, run them to the already running laundry and wash them together. Well I grabbed them just fine, dashed across the bathroom tiles and in mere seconds had slipped on the wet floor and rammed my foot under the 1 inch opening under the bathroom door. Remembering the sleeping baby I bit my tongue to keep from screaming in pain. I was actually writhing and crawling around on the floor thinking I had just broke my big toe. 

After a few minutes of sheer pain I finally sat down to look at my injury. Much to my surprise there was blood everywhere and upon closer examination, my big toe nail was popped up like a car hood (still hinged in the back). UGH! (Shudder) Now What?? What followed at first was a few painful days of hobbling around not even able to wear shoes. After a while I could cover it with some groovy Jesus band aids (donated by a friend and heck I thought it would speed up the healing process) but still no shoes. After that all I could wear for a while was sandals, even though it was early spring and still a bit cold around here.

So how long does it take an adult toe nail to grow back? Slower than you think. My friend's son ripped off his toe nail and I guess it only took a few months to grow back in... for me it took a couple of months for it even to fall off. All summer I had, what I referred to as, a "freak toe" where all the toes had polish on them but one, which didn't even have a nail. Sometimes I considered painting the skin with the polish just so they'd blend in but always decided against that at the last minute. Sure, I was freakish, but not desperate. To make a long story short it is just NOW that I have a full grown toe nail. That's right, it took one whole YEAR to grow back. Now that's some snail nail. In sort of a victory celebration and a simultaneous nod to my Irish heritage I have opted to paint them green for St. Patrick's day. Hey I'm just thankful to have options. Here's to cute toes this summer though...