These boots were made for walking

I did not grow up on a ranch or farm.  Didn't spend a lot of time around cowboys.  Didn't ever have a horse (although there was that memorable year my sister and I were allowed to ride a horse that belonged to another family in order to get him ready for sale).  Currently live in Suburbia, where there is nothing even close to a cowboy. 

Yet I long for a pair of cowboy boots.  I used to own a pair.  Tan suede.  Nothing fancy.  Yet when I worse them I felt like a different person.  Confident.  Capable.  And, yes, sexy.  I wore them with jeans and skirts and just about everything I owned.  I did not wear them with shorts.  (Sorry, that seems like a silly fashion statement to me.  What is it saying:  "I forgot to shave but I want to wear shorts"?)

Sadly, the soles wore out.  I considered getting re-soled and that's when I really looked at them.  The years of living in Portland and wearing them in the rain had taken their toll.  They really didn't look all that great any longer.  Pretty ratty, actually.  Not only were the soles in need of replacing - the toes and back of the heels had been scuffed so much they were no longer suede, but shiny leather.  And they were dirty.  So I threw them away, figuring I could always buy another pair.

Now here we are, more than 10 years later, and still no boots in my closet.  About a million pair of sensible flat black shoes.  But nothing that makes me feel different. 

Thus item #59 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days:  Own a pair of kick-ass cowboy boots.

I spent several hours looking online at various boots.  Went to the local feed store where they sell boots and Wranglers and dinner-plate sized belt buckles.  (who knew there was a market for these things in Gresham, OR?!)

And I have finally found them - the boots that I want.  Fancier than the ones I used to own.  But not Texas State Fair Rodeo Queen fancy.  I like that the toes and instep look like normal, brown cowboy boots and it's not until you see the shaft that you know there is anything unique or fancy about them.  So in jeans, they will look like plain old boots.  (I like to think that they are a sort of reflection of me...to look at me you would think that I am a normal middle-aged wife and mother.  But there is more to me than meets the eye.)

But I'll know.