My New Hat!

I got this adorable hat as a Mother's Day gift from my oldest son and his wife. I broke it in right away by wearing it to Mass that day.

My daughter-in-law had asked me a little while ago for a head measurement, and I thought, "Hmmm...wonder what she needs that for." I couldn't help but guess that perhaps she was thinking of getting me something to wear on my head. (My husband said, teasingly, "You think?") She told me that when the package came, it was up to me if I wanted to open it early or wait 'til Mother's Day.

It came, and I brought it up to my bedroom and put it on my dresser; because if it had been downstairs I would have passed it too often, and it would have been calling me, enticing me, like a siren's song: "Open me. Come on, you know you want to open me." (I did!) The curiosity was killing me, but I wanted to prove to myself that I had some will power. The package was definitely safer tucked away upstairs.

Still, I picked that large padded envelope up several times in the days leading up to Mother's Day and thought, "They won't mind if I open it early. They said I could." But I fought the little devil on my shoulder and walked away each time--though it wasn't easy.

On Saturday night, I had fallen asleep on the couch and then woke up to watch a little bit of "Saturday Night Live" with two of my boys (my husband was away on a trip), and by the time I went up to my room, it was after midnight. "Technically," I told myself, "it is Mother's Day now." So I excitedly opened up my package, and this lovely boiled wool cloche hat is what I found. I absolutely love it! And what's not to love? It's got sort of a vintage look about it, it's beautifully made, it sits comfortably on your head and doesn't leave you with "hat head," and it's embellished with a shiny golden doodad and cotton fabric in a striking blue and gold print (Notre Dame colors!). It's just perfect. And it's even lined with the same fabric inside, which is great because I tend to get a bit itchy when wool is right against my skin.

Getting a gift that you really like is such a treat; but it's even more of a treat when you realize how thoughtful the giver is in trying to find exactly the sort of thing that would make you happy, something you might never find on your own. This knit hat made me feel very special on Mother's Day.

(If you like my awesome new hat, it's from a small Nebraska company called Tweedz. Check them out on-line; they have lots of neat designs.)