I gave myself permission to do something that was rather radical for me. If I saw something in a window that appealed to me, I was going to try it on, even though I knew I couldn't afford it. This meant I had to ignore all the, "You can't do that!" messages going off in my head , so ignore them I did, as I donned a pair of $10,000 diamond earrings, exorbitantly priced dresses and more, all the while being treated regally by the sales staff.

David and I agreed to meet at Waterford Tower Place at 4pm. The old Sax Fifth Avenue Department Store was right on the way there, so in I went, making a beeline to the hat department, which was filled with the most marvelous hats. One was particularly striking and I wanted to show it to David on our way back to the car.

We met up at 4pm, and started walking back to the car, passing Sax 5th Ave. again. I begged David to come look at the hat, but he refused. "If I see it on you, I'll want to buy it for you, and I can't." I was disappointed. I truly didn't care if he bought if for me or not. I just wanted to share my delight over the hat with him.

We drove back to South Bend. Two days went by. On the 3rd a letter arrived in the mail, with a hefty check in it for David, an inheritance from his great-Aunt who had passed a few months earlier.

David looked at me and said, "Get the hat!" I did.

Arggh.

Then I had a brainstorm. If I couldn't change its color with paint, I could just cover it, period. So I took burgundy satin and covered most of the hat with that, inside and out. Then I used a glue gun to apply ribbons and lace. The first trim I put on looked rather disappointing, so in frustration, I took it off and replaced it with different edging, but that one was so sheer that the glue showed through. To hide that, I put on yet more lace.

Better. Oops, the ribbon looks goofy. I need to tear it off and try again. Now the burgundy satin is marred. Okay, let's glue a bead over it to cover that up! That bead looks out of place all by itself. Let's add some more so it looks like it's supposed to be there. At last, the hat is done!

Looking at the hat, one would never know the process I had to undertake in order to create something that I was finally satisfied with. I love this hat for 2 reasons. First, I just love how it looks and I enjoy wearing it. Secondly, it reminds me that sometimes when things don't go our way, we've actually received a blessing. What we might see as a "challenge" is actually an opportunity that may lead us to places that we might never have gone to otherwise.