The Hat

"HERE, you can have this hat!"
Paul thrust a drab green military cap my way.
"It's kinda goofy lookin! I think I've seen you wear it before.."

I didn't particularly want it.
"Aww c'mon man! It's a marine cap!"

"You mean like a legit hat that a marine would wear? I'm not much of a hat guy..."

"Yeah, it's official!"
I eyed the cap suspiciously before trying it on.
"I try to give you something, and you just aren't grateful," Paul said, disappointed.

Suddenly, the hat was great. It was the best thing I'd ever received! One second I thought, " Great, another hat what am I going to do with this?" and the next second I feel like I've just gotten the best gift in the world. I wore the hat for the rest of the night.

"Sorry, man. Seriously though, I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot!"

What was so great about it though? It was just a plain green military hat. I'd seen one before. I may have even had one at home already. What was special wasn't the hat itself. It was the gift of the hat. The hat was just a hat. The reason I changed my mind about it was because of the person who gave it to me.

After I wrapped my mind around it, I felt very special about the whole thing. Paul, a man who I look up to, and respect, went out of his way to give me this. At the end of the day, it didn't matter that he gave me hat. It might has well have been a piece of string. What matter was that he thought of me. My friend, my mentor, gave me a gift. The hat now carried much more weight than some fashion accessory or any utilitarian head cover.

The hat is a symbol now. Its a sign of my friendship and closeness with another human being. The amazing part is that he may have just wanted to get rid of a hat and I was there, but whatever he meant by it, I still means the same thing to me.

It's amazing to me how little gestures like that can impact a person. I try to have impact on the kids I work with all the time, but what seems to have the most effect are the little things, the things you don't do on purpose. The lazy talks after coming inside from a hot day. The assembly of a ping-pong table. The rides home. It seems we most impact people by simply living our lives in front of them.