Metaphor Shirt

Last week, while on holidays in Alberta, my family and I went shopping at a mall.

The mall had a few outlet stores.

One of those outlet stores had a shirt I liked.

The shirt, which regularly goes for $60 was only $9.95.

I have a spending limit of $10 per shirt.

I tried on the shirt.

It fit nice.

I liked it even more.

I bought the shirt as fast as I possibly could.

I did not inspect the shirt.

Sunday I ironed the shirt so that I could wear it to church.

While ironing, I learned the back of the shirt has a flaw.

A major one.

I now call the shirt my metaphor shirt.

I call it that partly because I like to name my clothes* and partly because of the following:

Had I noted the flaw in the store I might not have purchased it. I still like the shirt because from the front it looks great. It's stylish. The color of it is unlike anything else in my wardrobe so my wife can't confuse it with any of my other shirts. And, to be honest, I like the company name embroidered on it.

When you approach the shirt from the front it appears flawless. However, when you approach it from the back you see that this shirt was not crafted with care. There are defects. Specifically, there is a misalignment of seams that is unstylish and glaringly obvious.

For how many of us is this true?

How many of us try and have it all together out front but are falling apart, or misaligned, out back, or on the inside?

The shirt is a facade.

Sometimes I am too.

Plus it is a reminder of me to watch for blind spots. There are things that cause me to miss the obvious. A good deal is just one of them.

So, when people ask why I am wearing such a messed up shirt I tell them it's my metaphor shirt. Buying it may have been a mistake, but wearing it is a lesson learned.


*In addition to the metaphor shirt, I also have a pair of sexy jeans, and painting pants.  However, I refuse to call anything with holes "holy." That joke, like the article of clothing, is worn out.