Big Little Moments - Cleaning My Boots

For a person who is "particular" about many things, and who can be just a tad bit OCD at times, I'm not one who regularly gets my car washed or cleans my shoes...




The Hubs had been promising to clean my boots for the last year and a half. Last winter my boots looked real bad, and still, I hadn't taken the time to clean them. I wore them just the same. I knew they needed to be cleaned, but still...

And The Hubs had also not kept his promise to clean my boots. I get it. Life gets in the way. And boots can wait.

My father-in-law had been staying with us for about a month. It's one of his regular annual visits, only this trip, he would spend his longest time here. I'm not sure if it's because he has more time on his hands, he's older, or maybe he's realizing that time can no longer be taken for granted.

I woke up last Saturday morning, walked downstairs and felt and smelled the air outside. I realized I wasn't the only one up early. I walked towards the kitchen and then the deck and realized the back door was open. And there sitting in a chair, on the deck, was my father-in-law, polishing my boots. My boots!  Not one. But two of my black boots!

"Grandpa! What are you doing?" I asked with a laugh.

"I'm cleaning your boots," he said matter-of-factly.

"You know how long I've been asking your son to clean them. This is amazing, but you didn't have to do that."

"Well I wanted to. You always do special things for me, so I wanted to do something special for you."

Wow. That certainly caught me off guard. I hadn't expected that. I had spotted my boots downstairs a few days ago. They are normally stored in my closet, and I just assumed The Hubs had retrieved them because he was finally going to make true on his promise.

Only my father-in-law was doing this sweet and very appreciated labor of love. I will never forget this moment. You see, for much of my life, I've seen this man as the stern disciplinarian of his family. Always working. Always firm. But now to see this softer side of him, it just got to me. This is truly one of those big little moments.

And of course, we couldn't let grandpa come here and not do our traditional trip to eat crabs.

As always we had a great time together. Grandpa was also here to help us celebrate Buddy Roller's eighth birthday.  He's already talking about visiting us again in a few months.

Can't wait to see you again Grandpa!