Magnificent . . . Hats

I was at a Hearts at Home organizational meeting this morning, where we were previewing the theme for this year's conferences: Ooh La La: Moms are Magnificent.

The room was decorated so we would have a taste of the conference decorations, including small models of pretty, big-brimmed hats. I was reminded of my grandmother, who loved hats.

One of my favorite memories of my grandma is the day she took me uptown to Livingston's Department Store. I knew we would be stopping by the dime store lunch counter later, but a pink hat in Livingston's window caught my eye – and grandma's. We went inside, where the salesladies knew her by name. She asked if we might see the pretty pink hat, and I tried it on.

“Perfect,” she said to me, and “We'll take it” to the saleslady.

I wore that hat to church for several years, always with pleasure, until finally I outgrew it. By that time women were giving up their hats and gloves, except for grandma and her friends.

Later this afternoon I was at our local mall, and walked by a hat store – only this time the hats were all ball caps, for boys and men - no women's hats in sight.

I wonder what grandma would have thought of that!

Fashion changes. Most women don't wear hats and gloves much anymore, but who knows? Maybe hats will come back into fashion again . . .