My Evelyn Taylor Hat

Evelyn Taylor was a sweet, kind woman. Someone who was always interested in what I was doing. Sort of an adopted grandmother, she and her husband Harold were dear friends of my own grandmother. They had no children of their own and perhaps that is why they took such an interest in my sisters and me. So it is no surprise that the Easter hat I chose was nearly identical to the Sunday hat she wore each week to church. Perched atop her head, held in place by bendable wire tabs on either side, tiny artificial flowers adorning the front – that is like the hat I chose. Not a bonnet that most children my age would have worn. In fact, my sister had such a bonnet – fitting snugly on her head, framing her face with lovely spring flowers and a beautiful satin ribbon that tied beneath her chin. But my hat, was an Evelyn Taylor hat. At the time, I thought it was the most wonderful hat. It made me feel so grown-up. In later years, I remember saying to my mother, “How could you have let me buy that hat?!” Most importantly, my mother did just that – she let me choose. It was the hat I wanted and that made all the difference. The beginning of making my own decisions and living with them. It was my Evelyn Taylor hat.