Buy the red ones!
Cowboy Boots Are a Fashion Statement
Last Christmas, I received a generous gift certificate to a local boot shop that specializes in western wear. My husband thought it would be fun for me to pick out a pair of cowboy boots. Now, dear reader, you have to know that I am no longer a cute young chick who can rock those boots with a peasant dress and look like I just stepped out of an outdoor Western wear catalog’s photoshoot. I’m more in the “you look great for your age” category. Nonetheless, I looked forward to picking out a pair.
How I want to look in cowboy boots
Cowboys and Angels
The shop, aptly named Cowboys and Angels, is a small boutique located in the quaint downtown section of Sykesville, Maryland. Unfortunately, I had not redeemed my gift certificate by the time the pandemic hit and shut everything down. After months of sitting home, when stores started opening again under strict regulations, I made the decision to visit and see what I could find so I donned a short denim skirt and frilly top hoping to look the part, and off I went. When I entered the store, I discovered I was alone with racks and racks of boots. There were fringed boots and ones with gemstones. There were wild-colored ones and ones that went over the knee (oh, my!). There were intricately inlaid ones and short, sassy ones. Since I ‘d decided to select a “practical” pair, and already had a pair of useful brown boots, I gravitated to the plain black cowboy boots with a very subtle black tooling design.
The Sensible Boots
The black boots were a sensible choice. They would not call undue attention to me. They would be more versatile to wear with various colors. They were also priced slightly less than my gift certificate. A bonus point! They checked all my frugal, modest, and practical boxes. A pair in my size was in stock. But then… I saw the red boots. “Red boots are just crazy,” I told myself as I slipped them on. With my short shirt, they screamed “look at me!” and felt a bit dangerous. But they also looked awesome. I slipped them off before I got carried away and put the black ones back on. I asked the owner for her opinion and she advised I decide based on my wardrobe (which produced a snort of laughter from me. My “wardrobe” was so outdated it looked like women’s fashion on the Mary Tyler Moore show of the 70’s). But it was sound advice. The red boots would not go with any of the drab outfits I owned. And they cost more than my gift card. They needed to stay on the shelf.
Carpe Diem Translates to “Just Buy the Red Ones”
I got to chatting with the owner as I stalled over going to the counter and paying for the black boots. We talked about how hard the pandemic has been on her business and others like her. We touched on people like my daughter starting a career as a doctor, and others who were in harm’s way. Looking back over the past few months we each had loved ones we lost and had missed important life events like weddings, graduations, births, and funerals due to the pandemic. Time was passing, but there was no longer much to mark the days weeks and months as they passed. The future is unknown now more than at any other time. We have to grab and cling to the simple things that bring us joy and find contentment and peace where we can. It is a sobering thought that our future is uncharted territory.
I put the black boots back in their box and grabbed the red ones. “I’ll take these,” I said and hurried to pay for them before my practical brain caught on to what I was up to. Now I have kick-butt cool red cowboy boots and if I end up just wearing them around the house for the next few months, so what. After all, I told myself, what am I saving it for?
What are you holding back on? And why? Girl, buy the red boots already.
