Some people, when they buy a pricey item, tend to put it under lock and key. If it’s an emerald ring, they consign it to the lock box at the bank. If it’s a fur coat, they hide it away in a storage facility. And if it’s the genuine article in leather boots, they wrap them in boot stockings and hide them on a shelf. Hey, if this works then so be it.
I have a different perspective. I wear the fancy jewelry I own. Every single day. I don’t have a fur coat, but if I did you can be sure I’d wear it in season too. As for the genuine article in leather boots, I do own a pair. And, rather than save them for some boot skootin’ occasion, I’m prone to wear them whenever the mood strikes.
Perhaps the people who purchase such items and then refuse to wear them feel that ownership is reward enough. Perhaps they feel that keeping the item in pristine condition is their duty. I don’t know. I only know I believe in using those treasures I have.
So what if a ring gets lost, as one of my favorites did last fall. I lost it at a funeral and shall forever remember that day. I didn’t discover that the ring had slipped off my finger until I was on the way home and there was nothing to be done about it as the funeral was two hundred miles down the road. Of course, the ring was insured; so I was able to replace it. But that ring and the death of someone I knew will forever be intertwined in a special way.
The leather boots are another case in point. I bought them on a whim at Lucchese Boot Company in San Antonio a few years back. Believe me, they are the priciest by far of any shoe or boot my feet have ever had the privilege to wear. They are real ostrich, tooled with inlay, and wearable without socks. So why shouldn’t I wear them, even if they become wet with dew, dirty with mud, or cracked with time? Just think of the memories they’ll accumulate.
Which is what it’s about for me. Why not use one’s treasures to fill a life with memories? Wear that expensive bottle of Shalimar daily instead of just for special occasions. Eat Godiva chocolate whenever the mood strikes and the pocketbook can handle it, instead of waiting for a particular reason. Tromp in the garden in those leather boots rather than wait to wear them at a fancy hoedown that you may or may not be invited to. In other words, use it up or wear it out.
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