I recently purchased a new toaster after not having one for several years. For the past several years, I was avoiding bread (extra carbs, gluten-free, you know), and no one else seemed to be eating bread, either (don’t know why). The toaster we had was a cheap one, and it didn’t function too well, so I tossed it when we moved. No one seemed to notice it was gone.

Lately, though, I’ve had a craving for bread, and I decided that I really missed having toast with my tea at breakfast. While I still try to minimize gluten (hello, gluten-free bread), I could care less about carb intake these days, so I decided to order a toaster online. Online shopping is convenient and fast, and it saves me from having to drive 30 minutes to the nearest store. Two or three clicks, and a toaster was on its way.

When the toaster arrived, I discovered it was purple – plum, to be exact. At first, I thought the online retailer had made a mistake, but when I checked, I found that I was the one who made a mistake. I thought I was ordering black, but the pictures on my phone app were so small, plum looked black. I guess I didn’t read the description very closely.

I decided to keep the purple toaster even though it doesn’t really match my kitchen. It is a reminder of what happens when I start moving too fast, thinking I’m getting things done quickly but not really paying attention. When I get in that mode, I make mistakes. Maybe you do, too.

Right before we moved from Southern California to Ohio, I was driving my husband to a small local UPS office. I was in a hurry with lots of packing to do, so when I saw a parking spot, I went for it. What I didn’t notice was that there was a double-yellow line, and I had a police car right behind me. He pulled me over – well, I guess I was already parked. I didn’t get a ticket, but I could have or should have. I knew that I was moving too fast, and when I move too fast, I don’t pay attention and make mistakes.

So I’m keeping the purple toaster to remind me that going slow is OK. It may even be advantageous in the long run. It also makes pretty good toast to go with my tea.