My dad borrowed a beekeeper’s outside when he needed to get rid of a bunch of unwanted pests in the barn.

He dressed up like a Little Miss contestant for a County Fair Board dinner (complete with a contraption that made it look like he (she?) peed on stage).

He and Mom dressed as dice one Halloween when I was in high school. (Because it was too difficult to get in and out of their boxes, I went with them to visit their friends’ houses, so once they were in town, they could ride in the back, and I could drive them from one house to the next.)

Sometimes Dad dressed as something he wasn’t, but then there were the many hats he put on in everyday life: husband, dad, friend, neighbor, farmer, commodities broker, ag co-op manager, bulldozer operator, stone quarry supervisor, Toastmaster, transportation dispatcher, and the list goes on. He did what he needed to do to provide for our family and help others.

Then there are frequent roles as instigator, trip planner, adventurer, problem-solver, and goofy joke teller. He did what he could to enjoy life and help others enjoy it, too.

He didn’t hesitate to try a new hat and a new role in order to get by or just to try something new. But his most comfortable go-to hat was the well-worn, often camouflage, ball cap.

It’s important to know what’s comfortable. It’s equally as important to try new things. Those new things change us, because they challenge and grow us, but there is a core to who we are. It’s the non-negotiable, lasting things about us. It’s our stripped down identify. It’s founded in our purpose, and we get energized by revisiting the core of who we are so we can intentionally move forward. It’s our humble selves, where we can’t hide anything. And that’s okay.

It’s a good person to get to know, in both yourself and others.