My maternal grandmother wore purple alligator boots. Purple. Alligator. Boots. She loved those boots. She wore them everywhere she went; to work, to Walmart, to church. When she passed, no one really knew what to do with those purple alligator boots, so my mom decided to keep them. It could be said that my grandma danced to her own beat. She wore whatever she wanted, regardless of what someone might think of her attire. She was too confident in who she was to care. Whenever I’m having a less than confident day, I just remember that my grandma wore purple alligator boots.
Grandma LOVED her clothes, purses, and jewelry. Her hair appointments were every Thursday at 5:30. She took pride in her appearance. Her rings were absolutely gorgeous. I remember being a little girl and twisting them around on her hand while we sat through church. They sparkled. And I was mesmerized. When she passed, I inherited several of those rings I used to play with. I see them sparkle on my hands now, and I think of her. Because, she sparkled.
But those purple alligator boots and her rings were never what was most important to grandma. She loved her family and her friends. They were her everything. She understood that the things of this world have little value compared to the relationships that we cultivate. It isn’t our work, our possessions, or our achievements that matter most in this life. It is our friends. Our family. The people we love and the lives that we touch along the way. That’s what truly matters. And grandma understood that. She touched so many lives with her own.
I am always looking for the lessons in life, and sometimes, those lessons come from the people we meet along the way such as our friends, family, or the man at the train station. Both good and bad, we take those lessons with us. My grandma was a woman who knew her priorities and was always 100% unapologetically, unabashedly herself. I’m not sure whether I’ll always live up to her example (I don’t have nearly enough purses) but she sure did have a way of reminding you to value what matters most, love fiercely, be confident in who you are, and look hella good while doing it all.
