5+ years.
It's been with me in many cities, in many states... through several hairstyles... good and bad hair days. I've grown very attached to this hat.
In fact, I have a backup but don't wear it because it's not the same.
I also dread the day this hat dies, because I fear I can never break in the backup hat to feel the same as the first.
In all honesty, it looks like shit. The white patch is permanently stained brown. An entire Tide pen can't even restore it. There is sweat and makeup permanently caked inside where it rests on my forehead. It took a lot of heat, sweat, and hairspray to mold it to the shape it has formed to. (Am I grossing you out yet?) No amount of washing can remove these characteristics.
But I really love this hat. It was given to me while on the road, to save me from a bad hair day. This hat and I have memories together.
I had this hat before I had tattoos. And I know I've worn it to several of my tattoo appointments.
I had really, really long hair at one point. This hat has been with me through a lot of the fun times since then, 3-D glasses and all!
It has saved me from bad hair while in the midst of a hangover and fans with cameras first thing in the morning on 2 hours of sleep (when in all actuality, it was mid afternoon). I didn't have enough electricity or time to straighten my bangs. And no warning of photos.. but that was to be expected.
For me, it's nostalgia. It's a reminder of wonderful times and laughs I don't wish to forget. And it always feels 'just right' when I put it on.
My backup Jager hat will never live up to this. I dread the day I have to make the switch.
Do you have a specific item of clothing you're attached to?
Not too long ago I ended up getting rid of a New York Yankees cap that I had since I was four years old. The hat was no longer navy blue, it had turned purple. There were sweat stains far worse than you had, the brim of the cap was broken, the plastic holes in the back to adjust the size in the back were all cracked; you literally could not even wear the hat. Yet, I held on to it for so long because of the sentimental value. I grew up loving baseball, loving the Yankees, loving that my dad bought me that hat. It's not that I had specific memories in that hat per se, it's that it was a piece of my childhood I didn't want to let go. I did though; it was time. Apart from de-cluttering, it was time for me appreciate that piece of my life for what it was, then focus on making my life look the way I want it to look in the present. Recognizing that nostalgia can have too powerful of a grip over me at times made me know it was the right time to do it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and your long hair was totally badass!