many hats

**Warning: A little long.... so enjoy it all!!!****
There are many different sayings about hats - "Talking through your hat", "Eating you hat", "Old hat", "Mad as a hatter" (yes, I know that often applies!), and , for the sports fans, "Hat trick". The one that applies most to my life, however, is "She wears many hats". It is true. In my life, I wear many, many hats.


There is my "Work Hat". This is the hat I put on 5 days a week, when I walk through the doors of The T-System. Have you ever been to an emergency room anywhere in the US? Chances are pretty high that you have, therefore, encountered some of my work. My company provides charting solutions for physician and nurses in Emergency Rooms across the country, and also to many Urgent Care and Primary Care facilities. We help the doctors, and you, be ensured that you are receiving the best possible care by making sure nothing is forgotten when you are being seen. In my job, I am the project manager working directly with the Medical Directors, helping them make customizations galore to their templates, and also working with our Medical Document Designers to ensure that everything is correct, and on time.


Next is my "Family Hat", which can be broken down into "Sister", "Sister-in-Law", "Daughter", and (my personal favorite) "Aunt". My family is wonderful, of that I have no doubt. They keep me happy, they worry about me, they protect me, and they stand up for me. All I need on a bad day is to call a member of my family, and there are instantly at least 4 people ready to jump to my defense. Then there are my nephew and niece, Donavan and Dejah. Though my sister might often beg to differ (as they are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2), those two kiddos are the bright sunshine in many cloudy days. All I have to hear is their voices, their beautiful laughter, and I am instantly better. Also, there is something to be said for the evil pleasure it gives me to hear them giving my sister a hard time!!! Tee hee hee.


Then there is my "Church Hat". I'm an active member (yes, understatement of the century!) of Flower Mound United Methodist Church, mainly through the music ministry program. I am a member of the Adult Chancel Choir and the Adult Hand bell Choir, often-times solo performer of either flute or voice, and director of the Chapel Choir, which is chock-full of kids in first and second grade. Some of my best times have been in that building. It has seen me through many hard times, including those when I was most questioning where I was going in life. Heck - it's still helping me with that! The adults keep me happy, the kids keep me young, and the music keeps me centered around where I need to be.

Now we come to my "Volunteer Hat". I am very happy to be able to find opportunities to volunteer in and around my community. This comes from work opportunities for a variety of foundations and causes (The picture above is of a group of us working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Denton, TX), and also from my work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I am very proud to say that I've helped, in my own little way through work with the North Texas Wine Opener, to raise over 1 million dollars for the CFF. And, thank goodness, enjoyed some AMAZING wine and food along the way! I've met fabulous people through this cause, and the many others I work with, and hope to continue work for them in the years to come.


Finally, there is the "Melissa Hat". This is the hat that I don when I need "Melissa Time". I am an avid reader, finding joy and escape in every type of book possible (though my current obsessions are Jasper Fforde *thanks Jamie!*, and Jim Butcher). I am also quite addicted to television. Nothing tops off a long day at work like being able to come home, get some food, and just turn my brain off for a while. I also love movies (check out my movies of the week, to be found also in this blog!), and see as many as possible as often as possible. The rest of my down time is spent exploring - often with me just attempting to get myself lost, and find what there is to find.


So, these are my many hats. Granted, each of these is just a snapshot of who I am, what I do. However, I hope they let you see who I've become, who I aspire to be, and what I love most in this crazy thing we call life.