Day 1

Day 1 went just fine. Better than fine, actually.

Some women wear "shapers" under their head coverings but my head is so large and my hair so thick I decided not to try that. (Never mind the added cost.)

I was astounded how much easier certain aspects of my day went. Cooking was easier without my hair falling around my shoulders or pieces falling from a ponytail. My hair was one less thing to worry about. One less thing to fuss over. One less distraction.

When I ran to a neighbors house to drop off some essential oil I didn't have to dig for a hat. My head was toasty all the way there and back and no hat hair! I fell asleep in the afternoon and figured I'd wake up with disheveled scarves on the bed and my most epic bedhead to date. But nope. Everything stayed in place!

I can see the benefits to this from a purely practical viewpoint.

It is also causing me to pause and think more carefully about some of my choices. Much like a FitBit on my wrist is a reminder to make healthier choices I'm finding the headwrap is causing me to consider my relationship to the world. Internally I'm thinking, "Are my words and choices modest? If women did this in ancient time to show that the husband was the head of the household are people going to think D wants me to do this? Or worse demands?"

Fi asked if I thought showing hair was immodest. And I of course said no. But the conversation we'd had on modesty led me to this questioning of our cultures ideas revolving around modesty. If I want to reveal the real me how much has to be covered for me personally?

So many more questions than answers.

Headcoverings

I've been pondering something for a while now.

It started with a conversation with my 15 year old. I was trying to explain modesty. Because different people and cultures define it in so many different ways. I was explaining how women (especially girls) should try to dress modestly so that when seen they are viewed as more than their body.

My daughter is already an amazing artist and fantastic individual. I know as her mother I'm biased but she has one of my favorite personalities ever. She's quirky and weird in her own way, sensitive to others, quick witted and extremely well read. Somedays she wears feathers in her hair. She's fascinated with language and I never know if she'll answer a question in English, German, Japanese or some other language.

She's amazing.

On top of that she's cute. Really cute. I can't pretend I haven't seen heads turn. And while she dresses more modest than some of her peers I want to instill in her *why* modesty is important. It isn't as simple as, "because we don't dress like that" or "because boys will think the wrong things". It has nothing to do with me as an authority trying to control her.  Dressing modestly is an external choice to reveal an internal truth. I want the truth of her to shine through. I want others to have to look a little longer, have to listen a little deeper to what she is saying. I want them to see her beautiful soul and not just a temporary flesh.

And as she's navigating these teen waters I'm more worried about her being comfortable in her own soul than in her own body. Her body will grow and change. Time will wrinkle her skin and dull her hair. But internally she will only grow in richness.

And of course, I cannot consider my teen daughters modesty without considering my own.

At some point I stumbled upon the tradition of headcoverings. I read a lot of articles pro and against headcovering. All the nuances.

The overwhelming point I read in post from women who had just started head covering was how they felt like more of them shone through because less of them was exposed.

I think about how I feel in my most comfortable jeans and shirt. The shirt that is long enough I'm not constantly tugging... the pants with the extra long inseam that never show my shockingly pale legs. I am comfortable in these clothes because I'm not worried at all about "wardrobe failure". But is there something deeper there? In a culture that worships youth am I unconsciously denying young women a balanced look at maturity?

While I'm a fairly liberal Christian could it be that maybe my beliefs have come from a tradition that "threw the baby out with the bathwater" and that there are hidden benefits to headcoverings? Is there something I'm missing?

So I decided.

January 1st 2015 I will attempt 21 days of headcovering. And of course, I will blog about it and use instagram to document my wins and fails.

Feel free to add me on Instagram or if you wear headcoverings for religious or secular reasons I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to know your motivation.

If you want to play along please use the tag #21dayscovered so I can find your post.

Update

Did you miss me?

This fall turned into the most hectic we've had in a while. I spend far too much time behind the wheel of a car, dropping off and picking up. For quite a while there we were one car again until finally figuring out what was going on with my car. Daily I was doing a 7:00 drop off, a 7:55 drop off (two different towns, of course) an 11 or 11:30 pick up, a 3:25 pick up, a 4:30 pick up and some days also a 5pm pick up.

But as a general update: G is adoring school. He is blooming. And so far hasn't had any problems incorporating. Seems he had enough sense of self to not completely slip into what other kids are doing. He is thrilled to do his lessons and moderately ok with his volunteer hours.

Fi is doing better in her on campus classes than her online! Totally unexpected in a way, although I knew she could ace school. :) German makes her happiest, but her science teacher really has Fi's heart too. It's so sweet. There's a meeting coming up about opening the charter school to freshmen and sophomores for the 2015-16 school year and she desperately wants to attend, so we're going to research that.

IF both kids go to school full time M-R or even M-F I've gotta find a job. A jobby job. Husband's company no longer offers insurance so that'll be something I'll be after even more than pay.

Oh and I started making aromatherapy jewelry and it took off like a rocket before the holidays. I struggled to keep up with orders, and fell behind on a few. But was thankful for each and every one.

D is well and healthy. He is managing his metabolic syndrome.

Otherwise... all good here. :)

For Christmas I received a chromebook from D.  So maybe start expecting more blog post, if anyone still reads.

And to wrap it all up nice and neat... here. Have a few pictures I took today when we went for a walk.