The Hats, Boots, & Chocolate Philosophy

    If you're one of the very, very few people who have been here since the beginning of this blog, you may wonder why I decided on the name Hats, Boots, & Chocolate for it.

    Honestly, I've been wondering the same thing for a long time.

    The most obvious answer is, of course, that I love hats, boots, and chocolate! I love wearing beanies and my cowgirl hat, and my cowgirl boots are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. Chocolate is also a staple favorite around here; the very first blog post I ever wrote was a recipe for home-made hot chocolate lumps that store in the freezer and come in very nice, pre-portioned serving sizes perfect for making a rich, creamy cup of hot chocolate.

    But I think that's not all--and I think God knew it wouldn't be all from the start. Sure, I initially chose this name because I couldn't think of anything that described me better--I'm a person who likes hats, boots, and chocolate a lot! Today, though, I come to you with what is, I think, the meaning God always intended for this blog's name, and this meaning describes me in a much deeper way than I originally thought.

    First, let's discuss hats.

    Wearing many hats is already a fairly well-known saying that is used to indicate that someone does many things. This fits this blog quite well, because there's no way to predict what blog post will come popping out of my head at any given time. You never know what hat this blog will wear.

    I'm the same way. I wear many hats. There's the Writer hat, the Editor hat, and the Blogger hat. There's also the Daughter hat and the Sister hat, and sometimes I wear the Sister-in-Law hat. Soon I'm going to get to wear the Aunt hat, too. I've worn the Nanny hat, the Dancer hat, and the Friend hat. In the last couple of days, I got a promotion at work and will soon be trained to wear the Farm-Country-Team-Lead hat and the Don't-You-Karen-At-My-Coworker hat. I have hats for every part of my life, and there are many, many parts of my life. Some hats only get worn once before I move on; other hats I pull out again and again because they serve me well.

    To me, though, a hat has a lot more meaning than just What-I'm-Doing-Now. Hats are deeply personal, and they are how I express myself. I love late Fall through early Spring because it means I get to wear my trademark colorful beanies. I have enough beanies that I can match my beanie to whatever outfit I'm wearing or whatever mood I'm in, and that makes me very happy. I also quite enjoy late Spring through early Fall because it means I get to wear my trademark cowgirl hat--y'know, the one that excited a little girl at work so much she begged her grandparents to let her take a picture with the "Real Cowgirl (TM)". But just because I express myself through hats doesn't mean they don't hold an even deeper meaning for me.

    You see, another way hats have symbolism to me is through the fact that they belong on my head, and so can represent me having my head in the clouds. You could say that there is one hat I never take off or switch out, and that hat would be my Head-In-The-Clouds hat.

    Now, I need to clarify something. A lot of people think that the Head-In-The-Clouds hat means you're a hopeless daydreamer. Well, fair enough, because I am. But the Head-In-The-Clouds hat does more for me than merely containing my imagination--I think it also connects me to God, and God is the ultimate source of my creativity.

    Ultimately, the Hats in Hats, Boots, & Chocolate represents me constantly having my head in the clouds, imagining, gathering ideas, talking to God. This blog is for the daydreamers, the creatives, the people with Ideas they can't get rid of. If you're a geek or nerd of any kind, the Hats on this blog are dedicated to you.

    Next, Boots. A phrase that fits well with Boots is boots on the ground.

    Hopefully you're not surprised to learn this, because I've touched on it a lot on this blog, but I'm a farmgirl. I grew up with goats, chickens, cats and dogs, a giant garden and a sandbox full of dandelions. Spring meant baby goats to help deliver and chicks to take care of, seeds to be planted in the garden and rocks and weeds to be pulled out, and that didn't stop when Summer rolled around. I don't think there was a warm, sunny day I didn't go outside for some reason, and most rainy days saw me outside, too. Probably partially due to growing up this way and working with animals and the land like a cowgirl, I've wanted a pair of boots for as long as I can remember, and it was a dream come true for me the day I got a job at Farm Country and found a whole bunch of people who love boots as much as I do.

    To me, Boots are the action--the way we take our Hats and make them real. They are how we bring our dreams down from the clouds and build them up on solid ground. Hats without the Boots are just dreams, but put the two together and you get something great. If you're someone who works hard, no matter what field, and who tries to use common sense instead of doing what everyone else is doing, the Boots over here are for you.

    Finally, we have Chocolate.

    I have a metaphor for you.

    Have you ever had plain cocoa? If you haven't, let me tell you that it is very strong, very bitter, and definitely an acquired taste. I do actually like it, but frankly, literal bitter chocolate/plain cocoa is more of a grounding, post-stress treat for me than it is an actual reward, because the bitterness is an excellent shock to my system that forces me to quit overthinking life. I'm pretty sure that if I were having a panic attack, bitter chocolate would help snap me out of it (It is actually my head-canon that when Professor Lupin gives Harry chocolate after Dementor attacks in Harry Potter book 3, he's actually using chocolate that is either plain cocoa or very close to it.) If you're not brave enough to eat 100% plain cocoa, 95% isn't quite as shocking, but still works for the metaphor.

    Life is like the plain cocoa, bitter and somewhat unpleasant. You can get used to it, and even come to like it, but it's not something you want to eat in large quantities. Unfortunately, life is such that you can't get out of eating it in large quantities, so you either have to acquire a serious taste for it or find a way to make it edible.

    Luckily, love is the ingredient that makes that plain cocoa sweet. Add the love into life, and all of a sudden you have a sweet, delicious confection that most people want to dig into and eat and eat and eat. Plain cocoa is only good in small quantities, but I can eat finished chocolate by the bar and still go back for more. If you're trying to learn to "engage in life with love," as my philosophy professor put it, the Chocolate in my title is a gift for you.

    To summarize what we have so far:

    Hats is in the title of my blog because I wear many hats and do many things, and because my head is always dreaming in the clouds.

    Boots is in the title because I try to keep my boots on the ground and root my dreams in reality.

    Chocolate is in the title because life is bitter like plain cocoa, but love is the thing that makes life sweet like finished chocolate.

    Now, to piece it all together into the whole that is the Hats, Boots, & Chocolate Philosophy:

    Hats without Boots means a dream without action, which goes nowhere.

    Boots without Hats is action without a dream, which is slavery.

    Hats and Boots without Chocolate is misery, because a life without love isn't worth living.

    That is the core of the Philosophy that I want to guide my life--head in the clouds, boots on the ground, love to make life sweet. And I'm already discovering that, for me to "click" with someone I meet, they also have to live the Philosophy.

    Most of my best friends are my coworkers, because somehow Farm Country managed to gather a bunch of the most boots-on-the-ground geeks and nerds within thirty miles. A startlingly high percentage of us love Dungeons and Dragons, and most of us love books of various genres. I personally don't watch a lot of television anymore, but I like to listen to my coworkers getting excited about their favorite movies and TV shows. We've all got our heads in the clouds at my workplace, but we also all have our boots on the ground.

    We work with animals all the time, and between a lot of hard work and a ton of dirt, I don't think I've found a more practical, responsible bunch of people my age anywhere. Sure, during the slow hours we goof off while we do the chores and generally behave like six-year-olds, but we're also aware that if something doesn't get done it could cause an issue later, and we know when to be mature and grown-up. When we make mistakes, we do our best to fix them and avoid them in the future, because on a farm mistakes can mean sick or dead animals, and none of us want that. And, to round off the Philosophy, our love of animals, the small children who come to visit the animals, and one another keeps the Farm fun and makes even the hardest days sweet.

    Ultimately, I write to the people who want to live the Philosophy. This blog is geared specifically toward other writers, but you are always welcome to come and read and share your thoughts, whether you write or not. I love hearing different perspectives and getting feedback, because it lets me expand my view and see things from a different angle.

    I also have another blog called The Weekly Hope where I focus more on the spiritual side of things, such as my faith and belief in Jesus Christ and the small miracles that happen in my life. If Hats, Boots, & Chocolate isn't quite the right place for you because you don't relate to writing, then perhaps The Weekly Hope will be a better fit. I don't update The Weekly Hope quite as regularly as I update this blog, but there is some stuff on there and it will keep growing as I learn more about the Lord that I want to share. :)

    Now that you understand my mission statement, welcome to Hats, Boots, & Chocolate! Please, enjoy your stay.