The Boots

At first glance, you might think this is a Christmas or anniversary story, but it's really a love story. So, to keep the Valentine's Day spirit going a little longer, I am sharing this little peek into our holidays...

I love boots. I love boots so much that I have seven pairs of them, even here in Texas where it’s hardly ever cold enough to wear them. Alongside my passion for boots is my passion for a great deal, so let me be clear: I have never spent more than $30 a pair for any of my boots, and most I have had for a very long time. However, after eight years in Texas, I found myself wanting a pair of authentic cowboy boots. 

One Saturday morning mid-December, Tim took the boys for their annual “shop-for-Mom-have-lunch-out-with-Dad-have-a-super-fabulous-time” adventure. This tradition has evolved to where the boys shop for some specific suggestions at some very specific stores, and I love it that most of their time is spent just having fun together: 

Lunch at Babe's...
(Or, heart-attack-on-a-plate. I am thrilled that they go here without me.)

Working hard shopping for me at Charming Charlie's.

While all these shenanigans are going on, I am supposed to go look for something I need to pick out myself. (This is by request from Tim...it makes his holiday shopping so much easier.) This year, I headed to Justin.

Justin is a tiny Texas town--only about twenty minutes away, but it feels like a lifetime. There is essentially nothing in Justin but four huge discount boot stores, and thus it is known as The Boot Capital of the West. I just had to go.

And I found them. The Perfect Boots. Everything I had dreamed of without really knowing what my dream was, until I saw them. Chocolate Lizard. Are you kidding me?! Boots with the word “chocolate” in their title? It just couldn’t get more perfect. They were perfect in all ways, until I looked at the price. Heart attack. Even at discount boot prices, these boots were not $30. Not by a long shot. So they were not for me.

When I met up with Tim and the boys later that day at our church Christmas party, I was telling my friend about The Perfect Boots. My friend said, “I shop at Thrift City for everything else so that I can buy my boots.” Tim said, “How much were they?” I responded and he said, “You should have just gotten them.” No, no, no. I couldn’t even think about it…or stomach it.

I knew Tim was anxious for me to find some boots (my big Christmas present…he didn’t want to be left high and dry without a gift for me), so I continued my hunt the next week. Nothing came close to The Boots. Chocolate Lizard, remember? I am a very content person, and truly can’t think of any material thing I have ever really yearned for. As much as I liked The Boots, I decided, “Well, no matter. Those are a want, not a need.” There was no part of me that could justify paying the price.

On December 21, our anniversary, Tim called me in the afternoon. He had left work early (wow!) and was heading home to celebrate. He wanted to start our evening with a little boot-shopping. He arrived home with a single red rose, instead of the huge bouquet he normally presents to me on our anniversary. 

(Last year's anniversary, including an example
 of the typically fabulous anniversary bouquet...)

He explained that he’d thought it through, and that he normally spent X amount on anniversary flowers, and X amount on a fancy anniversary dinner, and that maybe that amount, combined, could bring The Boots down to a price I could feel OK about. It did.

My heart was so touched that my husband would minister to my wants…and my needs! My heart was filled to overflowing at how well he knows me after our 23 years together. He would have happily bought me the boots regardless; he knew we could afford them. However, he also knew what I needed in order to feel at peace about such a purchase.   

I love my Chocolate Lizard Boots. But I love my husband of 23 years even more.