To All My Clients I Say, Chapeau!

When a person has done something exceptional, we sometimes say “a tip of the hat” to them, to acknowledge the good thing they’ve done—whether or not we’re tipping or even wearing a hat at the time.

An excellent example of this is in baseball, when a hitter has slugged a pitched ball and everyone thinks it’s going over the outfield fence for a home run. But at the last minute, an outfielder makes a exquisitely-timed leap and snags the ball in his mitt, taking away the home run and amazing both the fans and the other players. Sometimes when that happens, the batter, though robbed of the homer, is impressed enough by the effort of his opponent to tip his hat, acknowledging a job very well done.

I love the French term for this noble gesture—“chapeau!” Chapeau is French for “hat” but, when said like that, it means “a tip of the hat” to someone for a job well done. It’s elegant and (being something of a Francophile) I think it just sounds cool!

When I think of all the patients I’ve cared for all these years as a nurse, I see their caregivers as the unsung heroes in each situation. Most caregivers are unpaid, giving of their time and talents because of their love and devotion for the family member or friend involved. In many of those situations, the patients involved would not have made it through their health crisis successfully without their caregivers by their side—helping them walk, getting them to their medical appointments, making sure they are taking the right medications at the right time. So to them I say, Chapeau!

As I pursue my work as a freelance writer, I think of the unsung heroes that I’ll be working with—editors, assistant editors, content managers, and small business proprietors. Other than, maybe, a name in small print on the publication’s masthead, most people who read the publication or use the service wouldn’t know they exist. But without them, the publication would never get printed or transmitted, the message to readers and consumers would never get sent. So to all of you I say, Chapeau!