I just got a new Seattle Mariners hat the other day. As with all of my other hats, I have adopted this hat as if it was my own child. I carefully took the tag off, paying extra attention to the sticky residue that might be left behind. I took several minutes to tear off a small tag, but it was worth every second of it. I then took the hat into my hands gently with the bill facing away from me and I slowly bent the outsides of the bill inward to create a nice even curve in the middle. This is the most dangerous part of the process. If you are not careful from the start, you could easily put a crease in the bill and then all is lost. So, my patient and experienced hands lovingly curved the bill slowly.

Every 15 seconds or so I would turn the front of the hat towards me so I could see the progress I was making. I would admire the hat and give it an approving nod. I would then put the hat on my head, so the curvature of the bill would start to mingle with the shape of my head and to start to form that ever-important relationship between hat and head. All was well and I have continued this process for days. It is not something you can rush, nor is it something you can force. You just have to be gentle and loving. Which makes me think, how would my life be different if I valued the people around me as much as I value this $20 baseball cap?