Overcoming old fears, with joy.

QQ begins to overcome her fear of baseball hats.

Those of you who have been around for a while might remember that running gear was difficult in the early months with Q, because I have always worn a baseball cap while running. It holds back the sweat and contains my unruly hair. In the summer, it shades my face from the strong, thin, powerful Colorado sun. Baseball caps have also always been a staple for M., who found it difficult to wean himself off wearing them out after a shower, or on a casual day off from work.

Q was terrified by hats when we first brought her home, and after a few months we realized that baseball caps were the greatest of evils in her mind. Even when she began to enjoy playing with and trying on my straw summer hats, mugging with them in front of the mirror, she would still frown and balk and crumple her face if either of us put on a baseball cap. Presented with them, she would grab at them and fling them fiercely across the room, like we had just handed her a large spider.

None of us will ever know what it was in Q's early life that made her wary of them. It seems evident that she had very few bad experiences during her time in the orphanage. She's confident, happy, easily affectionate, and normally fearless. Hats have been her one and only consistent source of fear or trepidation.

A couple of weeks ago, she finally began to allow me to don a cap as we headed out for our daily runs. Thank goodness, since it's rainy season, and almost summer! A few days ago, I put on a trucker cap from my husband's university as we headed out the door. Instead of frowning in consternation, she actually smiled at me as I slipped it on. As we returned up the hill from our run around the lake, she reached out for my hat. I took it off and handed it to her. Rather than flinging it, she smiled and began attempting to wrangle it onto her own head.
I could hardly believe my eyes.
What was even funnier was how she put it on sideways, just like a little hipster!
Here, she is applauding for herself.
Yay me!!!!
That looks like comfort to me.
Little girl from the 'hood. The North Denver 'hood.
Yes, that IS a Transformers t-shirt she's wearing. Her daddy was a huge Transformers fan in his misguided youth.
Happy little hipster.