Lessons from the closet

I don’t know about you but I’m a shoe and purse kind of girl. Yes, it is shallow and materialistic and a total cliché. No, I don’t sniff them. But the cat and dog do. The cat sniffing is relatively harmless. He bats any dangling bits around for a while, and then wanders off to look for a snack.

If the dog gets within sniffing range of unprotected shoes or purses--kiss them goodbye. She acts like a rabid terrier with vermin, ripping and shaking viciously. This mayhem continues until there are no recognizable pieces left. Very sad. Hence the baby gates and hyper-vigilance.

With a decent assortment of shoes and purses available, I still always have a favorite. The most adored selection surprises me. Currently, the number one purse is a squishy oversized tote in valentine red with silver hardware. I almost didn’t buy that purse. It was extravagant, especially considering the color. I didn’t think I’d use it that often. Wrong. Red goes with everything I own. The practical black purses never make it out of the closet any more. It isn’t just the color. There’s a fuchsia tote that rests most of the time and a blue suede bag that never goes anywhere. They simply don’t compare to the red.

For years, my favorite coat was a purple wool concoction I almost passed on when I tried it on in the store. Yes, it fit perfectly. Yes, it felt wonderful and looked better. Yes, it too was extravagant and certainly not very practical. A purple coat--come on. How often would I wear a purple coat? All the time.

The heart soars for reasons of its own. Maybe that’s what I need to learn--love has nothing to do with practicality.