Boots First

It's amazing the difference a good pair of boots will make. Fall has arrived to my great midwestern locale, and with it the need for socks and footwear. And when it comes to footwear, I choose boots. I have two pairs that I love without reserve. One is a pair of tall, black Fluevogs with a funky heel and the number 10 stamped in smeary ink on its soft, camel-colored lining. These boots have gone everywhere with me, fit me like a glove, have been resoled and lived to walk another day. The other pair are newer, a pair of Camper boots in dark chocolate leather that are so comfortable I could sleep in them. I waited easily six months for them to be available in my size; I waited for them like a lover meant only for me. I'm so glad I did.

I'm a bit unsure as to why zippering leather around my calves and wiggling my ankles inside my boots has such an ability to change my entire mindset, but it does. I feel smart in boots. I feel sexy in boots. I feel in control in boots. I wore a pair of dress boots (soft, Paul Green brown boots that feel like leather socks when I stretch in them) to my prelims oral defense. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have passed prelims without them. I felt so in charge of everything in those boots. Only someone who knew her shit could wear them. Sort of like magic in leather. A friend of mine likes to say that on the academic job market, "you can't get a job without a new pair of shoes." It's just good justification for new shoes, but I believe her. I'm already wondering which boots will hold the perfect job market mojo.

So this morning, I got up and saw that it was 50 degrees and raining. I needed a blanket while I read on the couch, and when I went out for coffee, I realized that the Camper boots were my best footwear choice. I practically danced my way into them. Fall has come and I can settle down into my boots and into quiet mornings at my computer. Of course, I was wearing my gray hoodie inside out on the way to coffee and didn't realize until it was much too late, so my brain isn't functioning yet. But if my brain can't be functional, at least my feet can be happy. The rest will follow.