Just Another Hat

Let me just begin with this truth... I only wear an actual hat on "hat day" during spirit week or when I'm outside for an extended period of time and someone tells me, "Put on this hat or your scalp is going to fry."  So...I'm not a hat girl.

But this week...I was pondering my newest endeavor and started thinking of the many hats I wear.

First, there's my career as a teacher.  Now, the educator's hat is multifaceted.  It covers a wise professor, an entertainer, a bookkeeper, a judge, a counselor, a police officer.  The hat changes from one minute to the next.  I wear this hat the longest each day.

One of the most enjoyable hats I wear is my "aunt hat".  Since I've never had my own child, I have learned to excel in my "aunt hat".  This summer, Connor pointed out that he and I don't have the typical aunt/nephew relationship.  We text each other puns.  I attended many of his sporting events.  I kept him at my house during the summer days before he learned to drive.  This summer, we even co-produced a picture book.  Yep, anyone who knows me and speaks to me would know I have a nephew who is "my most favorite nephew in the whole entire world".  The aunt hat is similar to my sister hat and daughter hat.  My family matters, so these hast are an important part of who I am.

Occasionally, I don the "singer hat".  Mostly, this is part of my weekly worship time with my church family.   However, here and there, I toss it on a bit while teaching.  Ask my kiddos.  They will attest that I've already broken out in song a few times in room 302 this year. There have been four times I've accessorized myself with this hat during a wedding; three times I sang while friends married and the fourth I was the hired wedding singer. I learned I'm much better suited for singing at a friend's wedding rather than being a paid wedding singer.  Then, once I was asked to sing at the funeral of the wife of one of my church's founding members. 

My newest hat is that of an author.  I try to devote some hours each weekend to wearing this hat.  I find after a long day of teaching, I'm not very focused in my thoughts to weave them into tales or poetry.  However, the eagerness at which my 302 kiddos encourage "the next book" spurs me on like a crowd cheering at a marathon.  Just like the little engine, "I think I can, I think I can."

However, the hat that I hope is under each of them is the hat of my faith.  I pray my faith shines through my teaching, singing, writing, and relating.  In the end, it's the hat that won't fade away or be exchanged or wear out.  It's the one that makes me...me.

So, what hat are you wearing?