Pull myself up by my bootstraps?
What bootstraps.
I would rather walk barefoot over the snow. I would rather nurse wounds from a thousand badly infected cuts. I would rather run up a mountain on a badly twisted ankle.
I quite literally did that, once. I was eighteen. Junior varsity track team. It hurt like hell and the pain made me want to explode and I’ve never recovered. Spirituality.
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”
I do have boots! They’re several years old. A little worn out, but they’re comfortable and I love them dearly.
New boots are uncomfortable and stiff and also expensive.
If I’m going to wear any boots at all, you had better believe that I’m going to wear them with style.