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The Many Hats We Wear (because the "show" must go on!)

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There comes a point in life when you realize you don’t just wear “a hat.” You wear an entire department store collection.

Some hats fit comfortably. Some were handed to you. Some you inherited. Some you never asked for but somehow ended up wearing anyway because nobody else stepped forward and the shower handle was leaking.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about all the hats we wear. Not just professionally. Personally. Spiritually. Practically. Emotionally.  I honestly believe, in 2026, most people walking around out there are absolute Swiss Army knives disguised as ordinary adults.

Take me for example. I’m Greg.

Depending on the day, hour, or emergency… I am or have been a:

  • husband
  • father
  • grandfather
  • uncle
  • great-uncle
  • Catholic school educator (teacher and principal)
  • curriculum coordinator
  • discipline officer
  • spiritual leader
  • occasional referee of middle school diplomacy treaties
  • 4th Degree Knights of Columbus member
  • Kappa Sigma
  • friend
  • colleague
  • confidant
  • blog writer
  • woodworker
  • struggling artist with oil paints, acrylics, and watercolors
  • digital creator
  • webpage tinkerer
  • semi-qualified plumber
  • mildly dangerous electrician
  • gardener
  • grass mower
  • amateur diagnostician of “What’s That Weird Noise?” around the house

This past weekend alone I swapped out a shower handle and installed a light fixture. Not because I’m Bob Vila. Because calling somebody costs me approximately a week's wages.

In the middle of all of that, I still had cucumbers to check on in the Garden of Weeden (https://gard3nofweed3n.blogspot.com/ ). The funny thing is… educators especially, become masters of hat changing.

My good friend Peggy V — teacher, principal, and former director in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis — started listing the hats school administrators wear, and honestly, the list reads less like a job description and more like a rejected reality show pitch.

The Hats We Wear as School Administrators

Meteorologist
Because apparently we all become amateur weather experts the second snow appears on radar.
Nothing says educational leadership like staring at three weather apps at 4:30 a.m. while parents demand opposite outcomes simultaneously.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL SCHOOL?”
“WHY DID YOU CALL SCHOOL?”

Both emails arrive within moments of each other.

Traffic Cop
Drop-off and pickup lines can make major metropolitan intersections look organized.
Every parent believes they alone have discovered a revolutionary new parking strategy. They have not.

Security Guard
Doors locked.
Visitors monitored.
Emergency drills practiced.
Constant vigilance.

A school administrator today spends a surprising amount of time making sure everyone inside the building stays safe enough to focus on learning.

Coach
Students need encouragement.
Teachers need support.
Parents need reassurance.
Sometimes everybody needs all three before 8 a.m.

Magician Or miracle worker.

Making something out of nothing is practically part of the certification process now.

Budget shortfall?
Figure it out.

Three staff members absent?
Figure it out.

Project due tomorrow with no supplies?
Figure it out.

At some point you stop asking where the rabbits and hats came from and just keep the show moving.

Gladiator
There are moments administrators have to stand in the arena and defend their school, their teachers, their students, and sometimes even their faith.

Not loudly.
Not theatrically.
Just faithfully.

Janitor
Nobody tells you in graduate school how much time you’ll spend cleaning up mystery substances produced by children during cold and flu season.

There are smells in elementary schools that science still cannot fully explain.

Gardener
Every school eventually grows something. Plants. Projects. Traditions. Children. Sometimes lite, weeding, and handling outdoor projects because, once again, “the show must go on.”

Cafeteria Manager / Chef
Because when the cafeteria manager is sick, children still expect lunch. Honestly, few leadership experiences humble a principal faster than serving tater tots to 200 students while simultaneously trying to solve a copier jam.

This blog really isn’t just about educators. It’s about all of us. Most people I know wear a ridiculous number of hats. Some quietly care for aging parents while raising children. Some work full-time jobs and still coach little league. Some fix cars, balance budgets, mow lawns, teach Sunday school, babysit grandchildren, and somehow still remember birthdays.

Life demands versatility.

I know people who live very streamlined modern lives — groceries delivered, food ordered online, minimal obligations, very little extended family interaction, very little community entanglement. Almost modern-day hermits with Wi-Fi and streaming subscriptions.

And if that works for them, fine. But this blog post isn’t really for them. This post is for the people juggling twelve identities before breakfast.

The people who can discuss theology, unclog a drain, calm a crying child, write a lesson plan, assemble patio furniture, grill hamburgers, and troubleshoot the Wi-Fi — often in the same afternoon.

The people who are exhausted… but useful.  The people whose value can’t be reduced to a single job title. Somewhere along the line, society started encouraging specialization so intensely that we forgot there’s something deeply human about being broadly capable.

Our grandparents understood this. They weren’t “content creators.” They were mechanics, gardeners, cooks, carpenters, disciplinarians, caregivers, parish volunteers, and fixers of literally everything held together by duct tape and prayer.

Maybe that’s why I admire people with many hats. Not because they’ve mastered everything. Most of us are just surviving creatively. But because they’ve stayed willing. Willing to learn. Willing to help. Willing to adapt. Willing to carry responsibilities that weren’t technically “their job.”

The hats themselves aren’t really the point. It’s the willingness to wear them.

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