Wearing many hats

At CAJ we're known as the Australians who wear hats. Apparently most other Westerners in the world don't routinely wear hats to keep the sun off them? The sun is strong in Australia and our skin is fair, so hat wearing during the summer months is a compulsory thing (although I suspect the boys don't do a great job of this at school since it makes them "stick out").

While camping in July, we did a ropes course
with the boys — with our hats on!

But this post isn't about physical hats.

Yesterday afternoon I found myself switching "hats" at a speed that was challenging.

We were called into a meeting after school about one of our boys and his classroom behaviour that has been less than respectful. On the way to that I stopped by the library to return some books, especially some books that I'd been asked to review for them. (First hat: book reviewer.) In the library I saw a friend whom I'm talking with about helping out with the magazine I edit. (Second and third hats: friend and editor.)

The bell rang and I proceeded upstairs to meet the teacher with my husband. On my way I saw another teacher who asked me about a student in her class this year that I did an Occupational Therapy assessment on last year. (Fourth hat: Occupational Therapist.)

We sat down and had our little meeting. It's never nice to hear your children have behaved in ways that you don't condone, but we're on his case now! (Fifth hat: parent.)

After our discussion petered out, the teacher invited me to come and teach the kids a bit about writing one day. (Sixth hat: writer/teacher.)

Then, this teacher, who hasn't just taught two of my kids, she's also a friend of mine, offered again to help me find an Orthopaedic Surgeon to consult about my knee, which has been causing me some concerns (her husband is a specialist in a respected hospital in Tokyo). (Seventh hat: needy foreigner/friend.)

All of that in the space of an hour was quite something, even for me, who is used to switching hats.

So, what does being a missionary look like? It's really hard to say, don't you think?