The Circus Trip: That Damned HAT

I hate trucker hats.  For those of you who aren’t aware of what these are, and the fact that they are “in” again, a trucker hat is a hat with a mesh back and a plastic adjustable back closure.  Anyway, there is a point to this – stay with me…

For the last birthday while I was married, my husband got me a trucker hat.  Mind you, he knew I hated trucker hats – we had at least a dozen conversations over the years about my contempt for them.  But, he didn’t actually get it for me.  You see, he bought the trucker hat for his girlfriend.  Yea – just let that sink in.  When he broke up with that girlfriend, he was left with this hat he hadn’t given to her and didn’t want, because it was women’s sized.  So, he apparently decided to give it to me instead.  What a guy!!!  Only he never knew that I knew all of this – I am sure he is still just toddling along thinking what a great guy he was for giving his wife a birthday gift in the middle of a painful, ugly divorce.

So I hated that effing hat.  I left it in the gift bag in my entryway for a long time (ironically, he gave it to me in a wedding gift bag – who does that?!?).  I asked many of my friends what I should do with it.  Ideas ranged from the simple throw it away or burn it, throw it off the mountain (I don’t like littering), give it to a homeless person (this idea has merit), to selfies with a new love interest (still waiting for that opportunity)…  My favorite perhaps, although I could never do it, is the the elaborate “poop in it, set it on fire, and leave it on his doorstep”.  WHA?!!!!  Remind me never to piss off that friend…

I have pondered this for a long time.  For some reason, it was important to turn this kick in the teeth into a positive.  Sort of a strange twist on the “the best revenge is a life well lived” sentiment.  So this damned trucker hat is going with me.  I am going to hike the National Parks, and see the National Historic Sites, and watch the sunsets, and roast the marshmallows.  All while healing, and growing, and showing him that he couldn’t break me, as much as he tried to.

So that’s me, on my first hike in the hat – Avalanche Lake at Glacier National Park.  Maybe at the end, I’ll drive over it with the car a few times and burn it.  If I do, I will certainly post the pics.