New Boots

I had a rare “Girls Night Out” recently. A few of us left hubbies and kiddos behind for a bit of much needed girl talk and fun. Specifically, we went out to dinner and then to a local hockey game.

Since hockey games are played in an ice arena, the bleachers aren’t usually much warmer than the parking lot outside. I wore an old hockey sweater under my heavy coat and was happily ringing my cowbell (for good plays, goals scored and the occasional fight). We all chatted when we could over the noise and were generally a smiling happy bunch of gals.

Then some younger ladies walked by us, and I had to take notice because one of them was wearing boots like this:

My two friends and I are all ladies of a certain age (somewhere between 30 and 30something) and we dressed accordingly. Comfortable clothes, warm coats, gloves and most importantly flat soled shoes. I chuckled a little as this very fashionable gal walked by. “That’s silly”, I thought. “Who wears something like that to a hockey game?”

As if in answer to my silent question, within minutes several more pairs of fancy high heeled boots walked past. And I began to realize that, though not a uniform, the fancy boots were far more prevalent than my own simple brown leather shoes at this event.

Clearly, even at a hockey game, some folks put fashion high above their need for comfort. And, maybe that’s the way it should be – who am I to judge?

Regardless of our spiky heeled boot deficiency, we three gals still had a fun night. Our team lost, and there was only one decent fight (half the fun for many hockey fans), but it was still a fun night out.

The next day Hubby, Little Guy and I were out doing some Christmas shopping. I turned to my significant other, and said, “I want some new boots”.

So we went to the shoe section of the department store we were in, and I perused the shelves. There were lovely boots made of the softest leathers. There were boots with spiky heels, and ones that went thigh high. There were boots in every color and some even with fur.

So, which ones did I choose? These, of course!

Luckily for me, one of the many benefits to getting older (and wiser) is that I no longer feel the pull of following trends. I tend to be much more aware of comfort. When it came to winter footwear, I wanted boots that would keep my feet warm (check!) that would keep my feet dry (check!) that would have good traction on icy driveways and sidewalks in the coming winter months (check!) and in which I could play in the snow with Little Guy without worrying about cold wet feet (check!).

Also, as an added bonus – they were on a very good sale so I was able to feel frugal as well.

My awesome new boots will never grace the cover of Cosmo, but then neither will I – so that works out quite well I think. I’ll definitely be wearing these the next time I go to a hockey game. Other ladies might pretend that they enjoy their fancy boots more, but I bet secretly they’ll wish their toes were toasty warm with room to wiggle (just like mine will be).