The Scene In Which I Learn A Lesson From Leggings

Today marks the first day of being in business for myself, and like any other self-employed, confidence re-seeking woman would, I celebrated by contributing to the upswing of our national economy.

I went shopping.

Now, before you start berating my for my poor money management skills (after all, I've just ditched a steady paycheck for the unknown abyss of sporadic pay), it wasn't that exciting of a shopping trip. I needed a couple of really silly things (most of which unfortunately cost way too much), like a digital frame for my display at a luncheon on Wednesday, and AA batteries for my camera, and a pair of shorts for my upcoming trip, and I needed to look through postcards and stationary to get ideas for wedding invitations for A&E, one of my wedding-planning couples. So while "I went shopping," I didn't buy anything that wasn't work or travel related, with the exception of 1 item.

Leggings.

Me.

Leggings.

Even now, I can't even really type that without feeling a little bit incredulous again.

You see, for awhile now I've suspected that leggings might be in my future. I have a couple tunic-style tops that I wear with jeans and a couple of short sundresses that would be ridiculously cute over leggings, except that that would require me to be a woman that wears leggings, and that just seemed like a really big risk to take.

But then today, at a certain mall store catering to a largely teenage population that I shall not name, I was trying on an adorable gray dress (on sale, thank you) for Wednesday's luncheon. My wardrobe isn't exactly what you'd call trendy or hip (I prefer classy), and in my new venture as more of an artsy sort, I wanted something comfy and cute to wear to bridal shows. The dress was a little short, but as it fit perfectly everywhere else, I realized it was supposed to be that way. Along with that realization came the Moment of Clarity..... my perfect dress was meant to be worn with leggings.

I'll spare you the rest of the details (trying on leggings isn't exactly a great sharing moment), but today, a risk that I never thought I'd take became mine for $8.99.

Because sometimes life hands us risks that are too good to pass up. Like starting your own business. Like quitting your job even though it scares the crap out of you. Like not having all the answers and being OK with that. And while this particular risk only brought me $8.99 worth of elasticized black cotton, it reminded me that sometimes things you never expected to do turn out to be the best things in life.

And you know what? They look damn good with that dress.