Red Fringed Boots

Back when I was in college, my grandma and great-aunt paid a visit to us in Ohio.  They were sisters, and as sisters often do, they shopped together.  It was a little tradition that at least one of the days during their visits would be spent somewhere shopping together -- all the "girls."

The particular visit I'm remembering was no different.  We headed to the mall.  At some point, when I was walking through the mall next to my Gram, she spotted a young woman with red boots.  These weren't just your ordinary red boots, though.  They had a row of fringe going down the back seam.  They were awesome.  Gram and I both thought so.  I don't ever remember seeing her admire something like that.  I told her that if she liked them that much, she should get a pair!

Right away, she brushed me off.  She didn't think she could pull off such a look at her age.  Gram was the youngest of my two grandma's by about ten years -- so I always thought of her as young, and totally didn't understand why she wouldn't "go for it" and look for boots like we had seen.

Fast forward to today.  Our daughter needed some boots with traction -- not necessarily warm snow-boots, but something that would provide more traction than the flat, short-cut suede boots that she has.  I had seen some really cute rain boots in our adventure to Tractor Supply the other week.  They were a great multi-colored polka-dot-on-black pattern that I'd long admired, and were less expensive at Tractor Supply than most stores.  When I reminded my sweet hubby, he stopped on his way home from work to look for our daughter's size.

He arrived home with not one, but two pair of boots -- the pair of rain boots that I had suggested, and a pair of cute, pink-lined, girly hiking boots.  Our girl went right for the rain boots, but when she tried them on, they were a little big -- and not really her thing.  The hiking boots on the other hand?  B-I-N-G-O!  She loved them.

I looked at the rain boots, unsure.

Could I?  Well, sure -- they were already purchased and sitting right in front of me.

Should I?  They might be "too young" a look for me.

And perhaps most importantly, WOULD I?  Darn right, Baby.  I'm keeping them!
You're only as old as you feel, right?  And I feel like multi-colored polka-dots-on-black.

I feel Gram smilin' down on me.

Today, I am thankful for:
1. safety and no power outages
2. a sump pump that's keeping up
3. a new dehumidifier that's helping
4. a quiet and uneventful day yesterday
5. homemade chicken noodle soup

Thought: If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. ~Frank A. Clark