Recently it has come to my attention that the definition of a girly girl has to do with how many purses and pairs of shoes one owns or acquires.  I keep a pair of shoes in my car 365 days a year; so, what does that make me?  A girly grandma? Or just an aging boy scout of the female variety?  Probably the boy scout.

• My pair of shoes in the car fall in the same category as the measuring tape in my purse

• the sleeping bag in the hatch of my Alpine Subaru

• the bottled water and crackers in the trunk; the dog leash in the storage container with the jumper cables and windshield washer fluid

• grab-and-go hiking first aid pack.  I live in the mountains.  I must be prepared. For the last five years I have carried my hiking boots in the car six months of the year and then traded them for my waterproof duck boots in the summer when I am more apt to need the leather boots for hiking and walking each day.  Keeping a pair of weather worthy boots in the car is as essential as having a cell phone.

This year the habit has changed drastically.  I still keep a pair of shoes in the car, but they are dress shoes. I really like my dress shoes and my dress boots.  They match my new purse perfectly. I also enjoy the warmth and security of other boots. Because of all the snow we have accumulated at the cabin, it is impossible to get from the car to the door in anything but the snow boots and sometimes the addition of no-slip-grips. When I arrive at the professional city job each morning I shed my duck boots, peel off the boot socks and slip into my topstitched, 2 inch heeled, leather office mocs –or my black
Wellington boots with the cowboy shanks. After leaving the office at night I reverse the process before heading up the mountain.

On my lunch hour today I found an irresistible pair of grey patent leather open toes on the clearance rack. I’ll probably keep them in the car too.  Even in the summer it will be difficult to navigate from cabin to car in 4 inch wedges. Somebody needs to design a shoe rack that fits in my Subaru!  A good girly grandma is always prepared!