"...and?"

[White silhouetted combat boots over a camo background.

Within the words: frequent schoolyard 'shade' back in the day,

"Oh yeah, ...well, your Mom wears combat boots!"] 

Growing up in the 1970s, the schoolyard was a battlefield of incredibly specific, deeply strange insults. But there was one classic zinger lobbed with absolute confidence meant to totally demoralize you:

 

“Oh yeah, ...well,
your mom wears
combat boots!”

It was supposed to be the ultimate 'shade'—a dig implying your mother was unladylike, rough around the edges, or just didn’t fit the era's standard mold. You see, up until the 1970s, women’s roles in the military were heavily restricted. For decades, the system pigeonholed women almost exclusively into nursing or clerical roles. The idea of a woman donning fatigues and marching into a career of command was practically a foreign concept to the average schoolkid, let alone the rest of the world.

So, when the kids threw that shade my way, they expected me to slink off in shame.

Instead, I just looked at them like: "...and?"

Because my mother actually did wear combat boots.

She was busy shattering glass ceilings with the heel of those very boots. My mom was a true trailblazer—the first woman to ever receive a direct commission to officer in any military branch in the entire state of Idaho.

While the rest of the world was trying to figure out what women "could" or "should" do, ...in the armed forces, she was putting in the work, leading by example, and carving out a path for future generations of women to stand on equal ground. She served a full, accomplished career, rising through the ranks to retire as a Major.

Yeah, my mom wore combat boots!

She wore them to break barriers and to serve her country.

So, next time you itch to throw shade on the 'playground',

remember, someone’s mom could literally outrank your 'shade'.