blue collar working

I'm wrestling with the news that I have to purchase steel toe boots and a hard had for the job site we'll soon be working on.  I joke that I am simply beautifying the blue collar industry, but at the end of the day, when I arrive home to see the mess that has become of me, its sometimes quite difficult to believe its true. Still, there is something about a good hard day of work that I enjoy... its both satisfying and challenging... but steel toe's and hard hats... seems like one big step in a direction I'm not ready to take...