Dad’s Boots

My Dad passed away in December of 2022. He was 84 years old. It was a year and a half before I could bear to clean out his closet and before I found the boots. Those old boots. He had them for a long time.

Back in November of 1985, and we had driven home from Cincinnati for Thanksgiving. There was a heavy snowfall the day after and Dad went out to shovel snow in a pair of regular shoes with some rubber things over them. When he came back inside, his feet were wet and freezing. Didn’t he have a decent pair of boots, I asked? He said he didn’t.

I sneaked a look in his shoes during that Thanksgiving weekend to find out his shoe size and decided to get him a good pair of boots for Christmas that year. After looking through several catalogs, I found a warm-looking pair of brown leather boots from Lands’ End and ordered them in his size.

At Christmas, he was thrilled when he opened  the box. He tried them on and said they fit like a glove. For years after, every winter he would proudly show me that he was still wearing his boots. Mom told me he would get out his leather conditioner every fall and condition them in preparation for cold weather.

One year 10 or 12 years later, I asked if he would like a new pair of boots for Christmas and he said he didn’t want new ones because his boots were in great condition, and they fit like a glove and still kept his feet warm.

In 2012, when Dad and Mom moved to Texas, I was over at their house helping them unpack. Dad was hanging clothes in their closet and Mom and I were unpacking boxes. I opened a large box in their bedroom that was full of shoes. At the bottom of the box, I found Dad’s boots. I said, “I can’t believe you still have these boots. They must be 25 years old! He said, “They are great boots, they fit like a glove and they keep my feet warm!”

Later when Dad decided that being retired was not for him, he got a job as a school crossing guard and said it was the best job he ever had even though he was outside in the elements every day. He worked as a crossing guard until he was 81 years old and every winter, he would wear those old brown boots while he kept the children safe.

As he got older, it became more difficult for Dad to tie his shoes, so I bought him several pair of slip-on shoes to wear.

I had forgotten about the old brown boots until the day I was cleaning out his closet in the summer of 2024. I was sitting on the floor pulling out matching shoes. In the back of his closet sat the Lands’ End boots from 1985. He had worn them for almost 40 years. I sat there holding them in my lap as I heard the echo of his laughter and his words…They are great boots. They fit like a glove, and they keep my feet warm.

Merry Christmas Dad! I hope you have some new boots in heaven and they are keeping your feet warm!