Boots on the Ground
"May the footsteps that we leave, lead them to believe.... May all who come behind us find us faithful." Author Unknown
My husband has more shoes than me. Well more boots and shoes. After 16 years of marriage and 17 years of knowing him, I have finally cracked the code on why this is. The shoes in his closet are much more than shoes.
The other week a friend of ours commented on a pair of old boots, wondering where someone may purchase such a pair. When she showed me which she was talking about I knew that it would be virtually impossible to buy them, unless at a military surplus store. The boots she loves are the old Army ones, leather from top to bottom, resoled more times than I can tell you and shined within an inch of their lives. They are really old. I've known these boots as long as I have known Vic, they are that old. I noticed not shortly thereafter the plethera of boots and Army shoes that inhabit Vic's closet floor. Rows of black and tan boots and shoes, all the same or very similar. I have alot of shoes, but they aren't all the same, which is what got me thinking. What is up with the boots and shoes?
A few weekends ago, Vic took our daughter to a father/daughter dance, complete with her updo and corsage and his Army blues. The two of them were quite a sight. They twisted the night away and got pictures taken and came home completely exhausted. When Vic walked in, he said with a grin "My dogs are barking" ( for info on the history of that saying, go to Colonial Williamsburg and take the lamplight tour). Vic took off his shoes, black, Army issue shiny shoes and held one up. With a face that is permanantly etched in my mind he smiled and said "These are the shoes I wore at our first date (100th Night at West Point), our wedding, all our formals, promotions and now with my daughter." and a tear ran down his face. That is alot of mileage on one pair of shoes. And now it dawns on me, all of those boots and shoes tell a story. In his closet are the boots that survived Air Assault school, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School. Somewhere in the group are the pair he thought would jump into Haiti. There are boots that marched in South Korea, took command during monsoon season, trained in the school house at Ft Lee and walked the hallowed halls of Ft Leavenworth. There are the pair that were retired for desert tan ones in January in Germany. There are tan boots that landed in Kuwait and lead soldiers into Iraq, then turned around after a year only to return 9 months later. I can only imagine what those boots and shoes stand for to my Soldier.
The Army has termed "Boots on the Ground or BOG" for the amount of days that Soldiers spend in a combat area. Lucky for me, that term has come to mean something so much closer to home. Our boots on the ground, for now, are right here in my house. The boots and shoes that are making memories are not in faraway lands, but right here in St Petersburg, FL. The mileage being put on the shoes in his closet are focused not only on the needs of the Army but the needs of this Army family. As for me, I'm clearing out some room on my closet floor, so there will always be room home for as many pairs of boots and shoes that Vic wants to keep.
My husband has more shoes than me. Well more boots and shoes. After 16 years of marriage and 17 years of knowing him, I have finally cracked the code on why this is. The shoes in his closet are much more than shoes.
The other week a friend of ours commented on a pair of old boots, wondering where someone may purchase such a pair. When she showed me which she was talking about I knew that it would be virtually impossible to buy them, unless at a military surplus store. The boots she loves are the old Army ones, leather from top to bottom, resoled more times than I can tell you and shined within an inch of their lives. They are really old. I've known these boots as long as I have known Vic, they are that old. I noticed not shortly thereafter the plethera of boots and Army shoes that inhabit Vic's closet floor. Rows of black and tan boots and shoes, all the same or very similar. I have alot of shoes, but they aren't all the same, which is what got me thinking. What is up with the boots and shoes?
A few weekends ago, Vic took our daughter to a father/daughter dance, complete with her updo and corsage and his Army blues. The two of them were quite a sight. They twisted the night away and got pictures taken and came home completely exhausted. When Vic walked in, he said with a grin "My dogs are barking" ( for info on the history of that saying, go to Colonial Williamsburg and take the lamplight tour). Vic took off his shoes, black, Army issue shiny shoes and held one up. With a face that is permanantly etched in my mind he smiled and said "These are the shoes I wore at our first date (100th Night at West Point), our wedding, all our formals, promotions and now with my daughter." and a tear ran down his face. That is alot of mileage on one pair of shoes. And now it dawns on me, all of those boots and shoes tell a story. In his closet are the boots that survived Air Assault school, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School. Somewhere in the group are the pair he thought would jump into Haiti. There are boots that marched in South Korea, took command during monsoon season, trained in the school house at Ft Lee and walked the hallowed halls of Ft Leavenworth. There are the pair that were retired for desert tan ones in January in Germany. There are tan boots that landed in Kuwait and lead soldiers into Iraq, then turned around after a year only to return 9 months later. I can only imagine what those boots and shoes stand for to my Soldier.
The Army has termed "Boots on the Ground or BOG" for the amount of days that Soldiers spend in a combat area. Lucky for me, that term has come to mean something so much closer to home. Our boots on the ground, for now, are right here in my house. The boots and shoes that are making memories are not in faraway lands, but right here in St Petersburg, FL. The mileage being put on the shoes in his closet are focused not only on the needs of the Army but the needs of this Army family. As for me, I'm clearing out some room on my closet floor, so there will always be room home for as many pairs of boots and shoes that Vic wants to keep.
Comments