Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

The Boots That Changed My Life

These were not boots with heels. Not elegant boots made to be worn in an office or a mall where they’d be safe from any contact with the elements. These hiking boots were made to get wet, dirty, and scuffed. They were adventure boots, from their rugged sole to the label that was a call to adventure in itself – High Cascade.

I wanted them. I wanted what they represented. Freedom. Adventure. A trail on a mountain with breathtaking views that only the determined and strong would ever see.

I bought the boots, although it would be almost a year before I had a chance to use them. Every time I opened my closet I would see them, and I dreamed about climbing heights instead of the corporate ladder.

Then I went to my office and wondered why I wasn’t happy. I was doing the safe thing, the smart thing, wasn’t I? Building a career. Working for advancement, promotion, a raise. Good as far as it goes, except for one thing. It wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted dangerous. I wanted to take risks and earn the rewards. I wanted adventure. I wanted to lace up my hiking boots and climb into the wind, not attend another meeting.

Those boots told me the truth about what I really wanted and where I wanted to be. A few years after I bought them, I was married to a man who had hiking boots, too and living on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Out of the city, self-employed. In between weekends spent hiking Deception Pass or Fort Worden, I sold my first novel. It won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for best erotica, opened the doors that led to getting an agent and a three-book deal with St. Martin’s Press.

An impulse, a pair of boots, told me I wasn’t living the life I wanted to be living. I wanted to be strong and adventurous, not safe and sheltered. Sometimes it’s a little thing that reveals an inner truth, like a pair of boots for sale that make you stop and look at them even though it’s ridiculous, you don’t need hiking boots and when would you wear them? But you want them, and you buy them. And your life slowly changes into one where hiking boots aren’t just practical, but necessary.

I’ve almost worn out that pair of High Cascades and it’s time to shop for new boots. I’m still building a career, but this time it’s the one I want and I’m where I want to be. And I know I’m strong enough, determined enough, to keep lacing up my boots and shouldering the pack and hitting the trail, where the journey is its own reward.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Puppies do it. Babies do it. Even cranky old cats do it, given a sudden burst of energy (or catnip). Adults usually have to be reminded to do it, schedule it, and stumble through it somewhat awkwardly if they do it at all. But play isn’t the kind of four letter word we should look down our noses at.

But why is the eggnog gone?

One of the best things about the holiday season is the abundance of eggnog. You can get it at any coffee shop, grocery store, convenience store. Want some? It’s easy to find! And it’s just the thing for washing down twelve kinds of Christmas cookies.

But sooner or later the tinsel and lights come down and there are only crumbs on the plate where the cookies used to be and the eggnog is gone. Then the holiday season is officially over. No wonder people get depressed in January. Fine, the holidays are over. But why is all the eggnog gone?