Health

Wearing Many Hats

(This is Not a Metaphor)

My Another Mother Runner hat, the latest in the running hat collection.

My Another Mother Runner hat, the latest in the running hat collection.

I’ve come to realize that I’ve been wearing many hats. Not in the metaphorical sense — although juggling half a dozen clients, coaching little league, and generally managing 90% of our home life would certainly qualify — but actual, literal hats.

It started gradually, with the quest for a decent sun hat that didn’t look like I was a) playing Amazon rainforest explorer, or b) in such a wide-brimmed hat that I look like some wealthy socialite relaxing in a beachfront cabana. And then of course there were the running hats, the coaches’ caps, the not-exactly-a-baseball-cap hats… pretty soon I had several styles to choose from when I traveled.

One of the many running hats, from Kingston Adventures outside Seattle.

One of the many running hats, from Kingston Adventures, outside Seattle.

But here’s the thing: hats cover a multitude of sins. Bad hair day? Hat. Gray roots taking over my hair? Hat. Hair blowing in my face at a ballgame? Hat. Keeping the sun off of my face while I run. Hat. No hairdryer in the hotel room in Europe? Hat. Keeping warm on winter mornings while walking The Assistant to school. Hat.

I realized that maybe, just maybe, I was starting to have a problem when hat ads began following me around the internet. “Interested in sun hats? Wool hats? Try this lovely cloche!”

The wool hat I went back for in the rain at the Munich Weihnachtsmarkt.

The wool hat I went back for in the rain at the Munich Weihnachtsmarkt.

Worse, I found myself clicking through to the various websites. “Ooh, this one has a decent sized brim AND it’s packable!” Because it’s totally worth it to spend money on another hat because it’s protecting my delicate freckled skin.

Ahem.

On the bright side, though, I haven’t had a sunburn on my face in eons, and my hair never looks windblown in photos.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a packable sun hat that I have my eye on.

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One Response

  1. Lori says:

    If you do find an actual affordable and packable sun hat that falls somewhere between Crocodile Hunter and Mrs. Howell, please do share. I do love the one I typically travel with, but the brim isn’t as big as it should be and also it’s a cheapie from Forever 21 that will most likely disintegrate in the not too distant future.