You Want It?

First things first ... thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support after reading my previous post. I am overwhelmed by all the love you guys and gals have sent my way over the last few days ... I truly am blessed beyond measure. In the spirit of being open, honest, real and transparent, however, I want you to know that my intention in writing about what took place in the pharmacy last Monday evening was not an attempt in any way to elicit sympathy for myself. I wrote the post with the hope that it would help others who might find themselves in a similar situation to know that they are not alone and that no one deserves to be treated with such disrespect and animosity. I wrote it hoping that it would make all of us, myself most definitely included, really think about the way we treat people who may be different from us in some way. Again, thank you so very much for your outpouring of love and compassion ... some of your messages had me bawling my eyes out and some had me giggling like a little girl. What would make me super duper happy is if all of you would do something for me over the next few days ... step out of your comfort zone and give away some hugs to folks who aren't the same as you. I know you can do it ... I believe in you ... hug away, friends ... hug away, and make someone's day or week or month or year a little brighter.

If you've been reading along with me for a while, you know that I'm a hat lover, and more specifically, I love ball caps. If I could, I'd wear a cap 24/7 for the rest of my days here on earth ... I really do love them that much. I would imagine I inherited my love of hat wearing from my dear old Daddy ... that man surely did love his hats. From felt fedoras to straw hats to ball caps, it was a rare occurrence to see my dad without some sort of hat or cap atop his balding noggin. Since I pretty much thought the sun rose and set in Daddy, it makes perfect sense to me that I possess such an affinity for various head-toppers myself and that I, like my dad, have quite the collection of them. Me being the weirdo that I am, of course, I have my favorite hats or caps for different activities ... I have lawn-mowing caps, walking caps, snowy days hats, reading hats and caps, and so on. And believe me when I tell you that I will never ever wear my lawn-mowing cap when I go on a walk or wear my snowy day hat if it's raining. Sheesh ... just typing those words makes me sound even more like a weirdo, eh?

Like I said, I have quite a collection of hats and caps, some I purchased myself and some that have been given to me as gifts over the years. I think one of the things I love most about wearing my hats and caps is that each one of them has its own special story. Like my most recent cap purchase when I visited Brad and Shelby in Maine ... a dark green cap with a small embroidered lobster on the front. We had stopped at an adorable little store called The Maine Cheese Company, which just happened to sell t-shirts and caps in addition to cheese. Or my almost completely worn-out Chattanooga Mocs hat I bought at the UTC bookstore many years ago when I took my three children to show them where I went to college. As to the hats and caps I've received as gifts ... oh, my ... it would take way more than this one post to recount all the love and memories that accompany those. But I am going to tell you about one particular cap I was given ... a cap that's become even more special to me over the last three weeks.

It's hard to believe I've had the cap for 23 years, and it's even harder to believe that's how long it's been since my sweet dad passed away. I can't remember if it was on the day of Daddy's funeral or perhaps the day after that I walked outside with my nephew Charlie as he was leaving Mom and Dad's house. We were standing on the sidewalk next to one of the trees Daddy and I had planted in the front yard when I was young, and I remember thinking how very proud Daddy would have been of Charlie. There was an extra special bond between Daddy and my nephew ... they were much more like father and son than grandfather and grandson. Yep, Daddy would have been so very proud to see the young man that Charlie had become ... I would have given anything in that moment for Daddy to have been able to see Charlie standing under that tree ... standing under that tree with his black and yellow United States Army cap planted firmly atop his head.

"I like your cap," I said to my nephew in an attempt to stall having to tell him goodbye.

Without blinking an eye, Charlie reached up and took off his cap and extended it toward me. 

"You want it?" he said as he smiled.

"For real?" I asked with more than a trace of doubt in my voice. "Are you kidding me?"

"Try it on and see if it fits," my nephew said, he smile growing even bigger and his eyes twinkling. His eyes twinkling ... Charlie's eyes twinkle just like my dad's did ... they surely do.

I put the cap on my head and not only did it fit, it fit perfectly.

"Well, look at that," Charlie said. "It's like it was made for you."

I pulled the cap off my head and said, "No, buddy, I can't take it ... this is your Army cap. Thank you, but I can't."

Charlie took the cap from my hands and placed it back on my head as he hugged me.

"It's yours."

I texted my nephew a few days ago and asked him if he remembered giving me his Army cap and I'm going to close tonight's post with his reply, but I have just a couple of other thoughts before I do. Every single time I wear the cap my nephew gave me, I don't only think of the day he gave me his cap. I think about when my daughter and I drove to Nashville to attend his commissioning ceremony before he went to Iraq. I think about him dressed in his military uniform as he carried the caskets of my mom and dad. I think about him coming home safely after his tour of duty. I think about how very proud I am of the man he has become. I think about how very proud Daddy would have been of his grandson ... of his sense of honor and integrity ... of his strength of character ... of his love for his family. 

If you read the post "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," you know that my nephew was in a freak accident three weeks ago when he fell through a steel grate and suffered a serious injury to his leg. Many of you have messaged me asking how he is and to let me know you're praying for him, and both he and I appreciate your continued concern for his well-being as well as your ongoing prayers for his recovery. His most recent surgery was a little over a week ago in which additional necrotic muscle tissue was removed from his calf, thus increasing the size and depth of the original wound. His spirits remain high and his crazy sense of humor is most definitely intact ... he thinks it's absolutely hilarious that his wound vac makes a noise that sounds very much like a person passing gas. Please continue to send healing thoughts and prayers his way ... for relief from the pain, for new tissue to grow over the exposed tendons and ligaments, for protection from infection and for successful skin grafts once his leg is healed enough for him to have the surgery.

Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure Charlie's reply to my text about the cap means I can add Best Aunt in the Universe to my Best Ghee Ever title. When you finish reading tonight's post, go find someone to hug. Tell the people you love that you love them and don't ever, ever, ever take them for granted. Remember that life really is short and it truly is precious, friends ... it really and truly is indeed.

"I do remember giving you that cap. I actually didn't have many Army hats at the time and that one was my favorite. By the way, I've never given anyone else one of my Army hats."