Hats, belts, aprons and running shoes

Like most people I have many different hats to wear.  I was thinking of titling this post "all the hats I wear" but they are not really hats.  I think of them more like different articles of clothing.  I only have one head and I can't wear more than one hat at a time.

There is the Mom Hat which I have worn for almost 10 years now.  This hat is more like a belt that has to go with all of my other clothing.  I never take it off.  I wear it to bed and I wear it in the shower.  It is really a tool belt that holds the family calendar, a digital camera, a blankie, cheese stick, emergency chocolate, band-aids, multiplication flash cards and a 5 hour energy drink.  This belt is my most prized accessory.  I wear it like one of those big rodeo belt buckles you win for staying on the bull for 8 seconds.  I am proud of this belt but it does get heavy and does not go so well with fancy cocktail dresses.

There is also the Work Hat.  It is more like a sleek black suit that makes me feel so professional.  When I am wearing my black suit and high heels I am in charge.  I can give a presentation to a group of 100 or work in the server room all by myself with my high heels click-clicking along with my fingers on the keyboard.  I enjoy my work suit.  I do.  It makes me feel like I am part of something bigger.  But my suit doesn't fit anyone else.  It is tailored to fit me and me alone.  The uniqueness of the suit makes it a burden to ever shed.  And I am always wearing my big mom belt with my suit.

And the Wife Hat. This hat is more like a sexy bra...(sorry to the men reading this).  It needs to be supportive but still has to look good.  And it goes well with the suit and the belt.  It is 17 years old and has seen so much change.  But on a daily basis it performs well and still holds up in the wash.

The Athletic Hat is better represented by running shoes.  They must carry me for miles each week. When I don't get to wear them I am grumpy.  I feel like I have to make time to put them on.  They get shoved under the bed or to the back of the closet but I feel so much better when I can squeeze in the time to lace them up and get out there.  I often wonder why I like wearing these shoes.  Is it really a selfish decision to make the time to run or a societal pressure to be the complete woman who also takes great care of herself?  Who knows.  

Now for the Social Hat.  The social hat is really a purse that keeps peoples birthday presents, cards, stamps, addresses, and phone numbers handy.  This purse can get really heavy and sometimes I forget to look in it but I never stop carrying it around.  Oh, there is also glue in this purse.  The glue that holds friendships and families together.  This purse carries responsibility and thank you notes.  It makes time for friends who are having a bad day.  It hands out complements to complete strangers in grocery stores.  This purse is not trendy or expensive.  But sturdy with big wide straps that can hold a lot of stuff.

Craft Hat:  This is a cute smock sort of apron with ruffles that I sewed myself.  I wish it got more use but when I do pull it out of the closet, it has knitting needles in the pockets and a long forgotten scarf that was being made for a birthday or special gift (see social hat).  This apron makes me feel creative and alive.  I love this apron.  It is a joy to wear and I get compliments on it.  It is seasonal though and I don't get to wear it every week.

Archiver Hat:  This hat is like a pair of big pop-bottle glasses.  I wear them all day trying to record what I see and hear and smell.  I don't want to forget the cute things my girls say or the sweet fingers that wrap around my hands and ask if they can have "some of my warm".  These glasses record all the history of our family.  They see everything and try to keep it in RAM memory so it is easily accessible.  These glasses never forget.  They have amazing storage and can recall things so quickly.  I hope I always have these glasses. These glasses are the reason I blog.  I want my girls to know all the stories and be able to go back and read them when they can appreciate them.  Because I know that one day these glasses will fail me.

Baker's Hat:  Now this is really a hat.  It is a poofy chefs hat that sticks way up in the air.  I have to dust it off and it is definitely a seasonal hat.  I LOVE this hat.  I love to bake with my girls.  This hat makes my family so happy.

I always think of this moment when Emma Jane was 3 and enrolled in ballet. I was in her closet wearing a suit and on a conference call about a server that was down.  I was explaining to someone how to ping for the IP address of the server, while on my hands and knees digging for a ballet slipper while Emma stood over me sobbing because she was going to be late for her class.  The dog was barking because the timer was going off on the oven to alert me that the cupcakes that I was making for school the next day needed to come out.  I thought to myself...this is true multi-tasking.  (And I used to be so much better at it.)

So the picture I have drawn for you is a 41 year old woman wearing a black suit, tool belt, running shoes, frilly apron, glasses, baker's hat, carrying a huge purse and has super sexy underwear underneath it all.  That is quite a mental picture, I am sure.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and I have wings...