As you may or may not know, I have a lot of jobs. Although a lot of my work is piecemeal, filling in for a vacation day here or a sick day there, I also have one regular part-time gig. Downsides are it is only part-time, I don’t get taxes taken out of my check or any paid leave or health benefits, and the place is about a 45 minute drive away. Upsides are I get to do about half of my work from home (which can actually be a downside, depending when you ask me), the commute is actually along a beautiful stretch of road (unless its snowing or windy, then it’s an alternate route which is a mess of traffic lights and strip malls), my boss is AWESOME, and the work doesn’t even feel like work. My AWESOME boss is almost old enough to be my grandmother and she has the energy of a 25 year old. She is funny, brilliant, and virtually always happy. I don’t know how she does it. She is a phenomenal mentor, too. The work that doesn’t feel like work actually stimulates my brain to the point where I practically never look at my watch and I never dread going there. In fact, I like it. I have made peace with the fact that I don’t have a full time job and have fully explored all the things I am now free to write off (continuing education, mileage, etc). Overall I think its a good deal. As it is traditionally sung at the Passover seder, “Dayenu.”

And then the unthinkable happened. Today my boss arrived at work with a pair of boots she can’t wear anymore, thinking perhaps they were my size and that they looked like my style. I took one look at the boots and felt feelings of elation, excitement, and fulfillment that I had as yet not experienced in the workplace. If these sensations of mirth were wrong to feel at work, I did not want to be right. The boots were sublime. I tried to take a picture to post but it was like trying to take a picture of Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park (which I know because I tried a bunch of times last week). You just can’t capture the beauty in a photo. You try and try but you just can’t do it justice. The boots are a rusty shade of brown with 3.5 inch heels and a narrow (but not pointy) toe box. They are constructed of a suede which is soft, yet durable, slouchy yet firm, with a bunch of fringes that hang off this little piece at the top on the outside. I know I described that all wrong but all you need to know is the fringy part completes the look of the boot. They go up to the knee and they are THE ULTIMATE VINTAGE 1970’S BOOTS.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t love some kind of employer subsidized benefits package. I am not really ecstatic over my low premium/high deductible health plan and you probably wouldn’t be either but let me ask you this: When was the last time your HR department gave you THE BEST EVER PAIR OF BOOTS along with your open enrollment forms and your flex spending account application?

My job rocks.