The Hat

I got it for him the Christmas before? After? we got married. It was $15 at H&M.

It was an afterthought. A random thing I picked up so he’d have one more gift to open under the tree.

His grandpa used to wear hats like this. He looked up to his grandpa. I figured he’d like it. I didn’t figure he’d still be wearing it 8-9ish years later.

 

2008, I was pregnant with Kendall

I think he really latched onto it when Kendall was born.

newborn Kendall

It became more like a part of him than an accessory. As fatherhood grew on him, so did the hat.

Kendall, 5 months

And now, it’s just always there. It’s not always on his head, but it’s always around, close enough to grab when he walks out the door.

It’s filthy and it’s got stretch marks. It’s cheap and could use replacing.

But there isn’t really a good replacement for it. His children will surely remember it.

Some people say I should make him take it off more. Like that’s my place? It’s his identity. It’s his hat. It’s his head.

He’s strikingly handsome without it.

He’s just the same with it. I don’t notice it anymore.

It just is. It’s just him.

And that is the incredibly ordinary story of “the hat.”