Spread the Love

If you know me, or have read my writing, you know that my cowboy boots seem to be a recurring part of my wardrobe and apparently represent a part of my personality I want to express. I don't think of myself as a cowgirl; I just like the way cowboy boots look and their sassyness, and apparently, so do many other girls and women.

Having always wanted a pair of red cowboy boots - always! - I pined for them as a little girl (just as a friend relayed that his 3-year-old did recently), continued for years to admire women who wore them , and finally bought a pair several years ago - and wore them one time only! I loved those boots but never felt comfortable wearing them - too flashy, too conspicuous. Why did the red ones feel all wrong but the multi-colored ones did not? I could come to no other conclusion than the fact that I know myself, and these highly coveted boots were just not me! One felt like costume and artifice, the other felt like home and me.

So, the other night a friend was over and admired the boots I had on, expressed that she had always wanted to wear cowboy boots, never had, etc. I learned that we wore the same size, insisted she try mine on, then pulled out the red ones from the back of the closet and promptly gave them away. The grin on her face was priceless, the boots had a new home, and yet another woman in her 50's could now express her inner cowgirl! (Those are her happy feet in the picture above.)

Sometimes I get chided for the number of boots I own and insist on traveling with and hanging on to for years; after all, they are only boots, and I am the same person with or without them. But the human need for self expression, whether through words, pictures, performance or decoration is innate, and when an article of clothing can fill that need, hallelujah! And when it's just not me, I'd rather spread the love and pass it on, without trying to be someone I'm not!