Some recent weddings in my family produced some embarassment for me.

I’m not talking about making a fool out of myself on the dance floor because I have enough company in that area. I have had, for lack of a better term, wardrobe malfunctions prior to the ceremony.

Six years ago, I realized I brought two different shoes – both black, one right and one left. They were just different styles an hour or so before the ceremony several hours from home. Last year, I discovered that the pants to the one suit I had at the time had gone missing, forcing a late scramble to put together an outfit which worked and fit.

So when we prepared for my niece’s nuptials a couple of weeks ago, I took extra care as I prepared.

Since last year’s wedding, I had purchased new suits so I knew I had a backup there. I just had the pants hemmed a few weeks prior so there would be no surprises in that area.

The morning of the ceremony, I laid out my clothes on the bed to assess the situation. I had my wife look things over. Nothing could stop me now.

I felt pretty proud of myself throughout the entire ceremony. No one knew I had managed to dress myself appropriately for an event I had more than a year to prepare for. They probably didn’t care, but I knew I had overcome the odds so that’s all that mattered.

Nothing bad happened at the reception. I danced and jumped around without tearing the backside of my pants. As I rode back to the hotel, I started to feel a little smug.

Big mistake. I should have known better than to get cocky.

We headed back to the room to change so we could meet the rest of the partiers at a bar near the hotel. I let out a sigh of relief as I traded my fancy clothes for jeans and a t-shirt. After I slipped off my wingtips, I reached into my travel bag for my flip-flops.

To tell the truth, I kind of rushed packing some of my casual clothes. I knew I needed something for after the reception and something for Sunday morning. I grabbed the proper clothes and a pair of casual shoes, then hurriedly grabbed flip-flops out of my closest.

That’s where I ran into trouble.

I had flashbacks to the day in New Jersey six years ago when I saw the mismatched shoes. Once again, I had something to wear on my left foot and something to wear on my right foot. Problem was, one was green and the other was blue.

The good news is that we never made it to the bar because, once I sat down in the lobby to wait for someone, I knew I had to get to bed. Being old worked out.

Now I know that mismatched flip flops can’t measure up to my past mistakes, but at least it shows I’m consistent. We have another wedding in just over a year. What will I mess up then?