A Week Observed

Congratulations fellow dress-ers! We have made it one week in our feminine apparel. I thought I would take this blog to share my observations of how this has impacted me so far.

Since wearing skirts and dresses, the most obvious difference is how I move. When I walk, my skirt flows around me, making my walk slightly more delicate, and I feel more graceful. When I sit on the floor with my daughter, rather than sitting with my legs open, I generally sit with legs together, bent over to one side, and my skirt/dress lays on the floor, surrounding me with fabric to place over my legs. It makes me feel, well, more like a princess, more like a lady.

This is one reason why, I think, my daughter, though not even 2, prefers dresses and skirts. In the last week, I have included her in the dress dare, and I must say, getting dressed in the mornings is soooo much easier! She is so young, and yet, 99% of the time, when given the option of pants or a dress, she will choose the dress. When she puts it on, she will generally immediately grab the skirt, do a twirl, and ask for music to dance. This made me reflect more on how these articles of clothing differentiate us from men.

I noticed a few things. One, when going to a restroom, if one can't read the letters on the door, how do you know which restroom to go in? Well, the little stick figure for a woman, is clearly wearing a skirt! Second, it's prom season, and no teenage girl goes shopping for a prom tuxedo. She goes looking for a prom dress! Very few women walk down the aisle on their wedding day without a white dress cascading below them.

So I'll admit it, I feel prettier in a skirt/dress. This week, I never wondered if I was dressed appropriately for where I was going, because I looked, if anything, more presentable than normal. A few weeks ago, I was going to daily mass and afterwards, to the park for a picnic and playtime with Mina, and I felt so irreverent approaching Christ, truly present in the Eucharist in my jean bermuda shorts. This week, I had no such issues. Every day, I was prepared to attend mass, outwardly showing reverence for the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ Himself. Of course I still believed in the true presence when in my shorts, but was a demonstrating this in the way I dressed? If I dress up for Sunday mass, shouldn't I do the same at daily mass? Christ is no less present on a weekday.

So those are just some of my thoughts from this last week. Have any of you noticed any differences or become more aware of anything in your first week?

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there, and to Our Mother Mary!