Beanies and Duct Tape

Earlier this month I noticed that I was eighteen posts away from my 500th. I decided that by the end of year, I would get to 500 posts. This is it. It also is my Christmas post, which was not at all planned. But it's Christmas Eve, so there you have it. I wanted it to be meaningful. Angels and shepherds. Coffee and pumpkin pie. Frankincense and myrrh. That sort of thing.

Tomorrow I will be visiting two different homes, and I am not the kind of guest who shows up empty handed. I had not gotten anything to take, then a couple of days ago I received a Trader Joe's gift card from a friend. The amount is enough to cover the cost of two bottles of good wine, and both my hosts love wine.

I would usually avoid the crowds at the grocery store on Christmas Eve, but after work I stopped at Trader Joe's. A cashier had bows all over her head. And I mean All Over Her Head. They were the premade, adhesive backed bows. Inexpensive ones sold at the discount stores. Customers were taking pictures of her, and one asked her how she made her amazing hat. She said, "It's just a beanie and duct tape."

When I paid for my wine, I told her I loved her hat. She looked at me, that look I often get when people are deciding whether to tell me a personal story. I must have that kind of face, because complete strangers confide in me. She told me her mother died seventeen years ago at Christmas time, and as she was cleaning out her house she found a bag of old bows her mother had kept from gifts she had received. The daughter didn't have the heart to part with them. Her mother loved Christmas more than anyone. She had six Christmas trees in her house. So a few years later, the daughter came up with the idea to make a special Christmas hat. "It's really a tribute to my mommy," she said.

What an amazing person her mother must have been, to inspire such a fun, fantastic hat. And what a confident daughter she raised, someone who would be able to wear it with such grace and whimsy. And to think I might have missed it, had all indicators not pointed me to Trader Joe's.

Happy Christmas.

Susan