New shoes, old shirts, and winter in Bellingham

Today the weather broke and it stopped raining for the first time this week. Imagine this...Seattle has received more than 3 inches more rain than normal for all of January, and it is obviously only the 15th of the month. So yes, it is rainy in the Pacific Northwest.

It is also more than 50 degrees, and with the break in rain, it was a perfect afternoon for a walk. Of course part of me is gloating and wanting to show off the green that is so evident everywhere. I hope that this cheers those in the Midwest, who might not be so green. I know it cheered me. I love the ferns and other signs that winter, well, winter is different out here. Though I appreciate the four seasons and am glad to get back to the land of those four seasons, I will always always love the Northwest and its perpetual green.

While I was enjoying the break in weather, I ostensibly took the walk to help break in a pair of hiking boots. Good timing, eh? A year and a half late for out here, and I won't be able to use them in Minnesota til what, July? Maybe I can call them snow boots, so I can use them sooner...

The goal is to make these boots "old friends" and be totally comfortable in them. For what I paid, these should be lifetime boots, so I am taking the time to do it right. When I was walking, I realized how I do like lifetime clothes. This afternoon I was, and am wearing tonight a very soft, butter-colored chamois shirt that has to be at least 15 years old. It has kept me warm, kept others warm, and been a comfort shirt for a long time. It warms me, but it warms my heart, too, and maybe it did that to others, even if they only hugged me when I was wearing it. The shirt is no longer pristine--there is paint from "this" and stains from "that." But it also can tell lots of stories for all those years of my life.

I know it is silly to assign this much or any importance at all to just an old shirt, but I do. I like that I have done that, and that this stupid old shirt is important to me after all these years. And that I treasure the stories that this shirt has shared and can tell.

Maybe this boots will sometimes be the touchstone of other stories of my life, just like this shirt. I hope so.

They got a good start today.