Under My Hat

Hello, dear readers,

So, as promised, after both of us feeling less than well over the past week or so, here are a few of my little musings on life as a short little lady, living with a slightly crazy husband creature.

Actually, tomorrow is a momentous day in my life, a day in which to celebrate and have fun, but a day of constant reminders that I am in fact getting quite old.

In my younger years, I remember clearly thinking that 30 was old. And now - as I approach my 51st year on earth, I have some thoughts to share.
Wooly Thinking
As well as my birthday, there are also other things to look forward to in the coming weeks. I have to admit that I am most excited for wooly hat weather! Looking at the dreary weather today, if I had been forced to go out of my warm comfy home, I would have definitely searched out my wooly hat. Over the years I have accumulated a few of these beauties, but, like most things, I forget where I've put them most of the time. I can guarantee though, that if and when I do wear one, I’ll get a comment that I look like a flump (not a frump may I add. He wouldn't get away with that !)

The thought got me thinking about the vast collections of metaphorical hats I wear on a daily basis. I wear my human being hat every day (apart from on a morning, or when I'm hungry or tired or stressed). I wear my wife hat with pride, most of the time, as I try to be a supportive and loving wife. Again, most of the time. I also wear a mum hat, even though after wearing that hat for over 25 years, I often feel like it’s my daughter who wears the mums hat nowadays.

My precious daughter's hat has unfortunately transformed into a carer's hat these days as my mum battles with dementia, and every day she becomes less and less of the person she was.

I wear my NHS hat with huge pride, I am in the unique position of loving my job, and my job satisfaction comes from knowing the impact that my experiences in mental health can help others on their mental health journey,

Many Hats
I have other favourite hats too, I love wearing my sister/sister in law hat, and I am grateful every day that I can wear my daughter in law hat. I sometimes wear a jokers hat, sometimes even a sensible hat too, and I love wearing my pet mum hat.

The Rankin household is home to 1 beautiful 11 year old springador, and 2 gorgeous felines (a mum and son). I also often wear a good friend hat, a good neighbour hat, a pianist hat, a Lego star wars gamers hat, a cooks hat, a washer-uppers hat and many, many more..

In years gone by (and even now actually) a hat would signify your profession. A chef’s hat, a policeman's hat, a soldier's beret, a chauffeur's hat, and, in my life , there have been times when I wore a physical hat to signify my profession or a particular symbol of belonging

I wore a singing company hat when I was 8 year old. Within the Salvation Army, I wore a soldier's hat, then an officers hat (as part of my uniform). I wore a hat when I worked on the delicatessen at the Co Op, and a protective mask and head gear when I worked in healthcare throughout covid.

All these hats signified a particular role that I played in society. They offered identification, witness and protection, and for most of the time, I was happy and proud to wear them.

But back to where this rambling started, my humble wooly hat. It protects my head from getting cold, and covers up my bad hair days. It's a symbol of the cold weather, and I think it looks rather fetching actually. My wooly hat fits the occasion, and it does its job well.

Hats Off To it

I would love to say that I wear all my hats well - especially the metaphorical ones, and over recent years, I have worked really hard on my hat wearing skills. I suppose more importantly, I have worked on me. The person wearing the hat. Ensuring I am the very best hat wearing person I can be. It's a work in progress of course, an ongoing story that will last at least another 50 years. 

Or so I hope.


Until next time!

#

Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.



New Tales Of Old



Death Ship



Pestilence: Drabbles 1



Reaperman: Drabbles 3



The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu



Eldritch Investigations