Self-Care Tip: Wear a Hat!

I’m sure you’ve heard or read the advice “Wear a hat” often enough you’re probably sick of it. Maybe you think you don’t look good in a floppy hat; maybe you think you don’t need it; maybe…

I used to be that way, until it got personal for me. You see, an aunt got skin cancer. It started, believe it or not, with a spot on her head, in her hair. The hairdresser saw it, commented on it, and suggested she check it out with her doctor. The doctor sent her to a dermatologist, who biopsied it. It came back, skin cancer. Even though she received treatment, the day came when a spot of cancer showed on her lung. Sometime after that, it spread to her brain. When I last talked to her, unaware of what was really going on, she couldn’t communicate clearly. She died not long after that. 

So now, I wear a floppy hat everywhere I go, except I admit, when it’s pouring down rain. I have one in the house, and I bought one to keep in the car, in case I forget to put the other one on my head before I walk out the door. A friend gave me a couple to wear outside when doing yard work.

Someone told me I look good in a hat. I would wear it even if somebody told me I look ridiculous in the hat. I enjoy wearing it; I like the added shade it provides; I wear it as a sort of memorial for my aunt, but I also wear it because I feel protected. 

Wear a hat, for your sake!

©P. Booher