My new hair style

With all the excitement of the new year, I forgot to mention my new 'do'. Cutting my hair was a big deal for me. I always had it long. Most people will say it still is long, but it has not been this short for well.. ten years.
I love long hair. I love the way it feels and I love the way it makes a woman look more feminine. Unfortunately my hair had become more of a nod to femininity than truely a statement. It was damaged and there had not been a decent cut in it since shortly after my wedding. The last thing I wanted, blogging so often about being modest without being frumpy, was to look like someone who had let herself go.

I have, however, a healthy fear of hairdressers who see long hair and just itch for the scisors to make you look 'modern'. In other words, they just want to cut it all off, regardless of your own wishes. It never seems to be too short in their opinion, and many of the 'stylists' in cheaper salons don't seem to have a concept of what flatters a face or what fits a certain style. There are of course great hairdressers out there, but I just didn't know one. At least not here.
My hair, my 'crown and glory', was not something that I would let any stranger cut. Hair does grow back, but it can take a long time, so I wanted someone I trusted.
So I waited till I went to Belgium to ask the hairdresser that did my hair for my wedding. I admit I had some regrets when a whole lot came off. But it still looks long, it's ultra feminine, and it DOES look a whole lot better. Now I just need to learn how to style it on a daily basis!

Mantilla

A very kind lady just send me a vintage mantilla. She didn't feel it suited her, and thought I might like it. I LOVE it. While I grew up, I did not know anyone who covered their head during mass. Even my Polish grandmother didn't. It came as a surprise to me when a few years ago I just felt this... whisper inside my heart that kept talking to me about covering. I resisted for a while, but the Holy Spirit seemed to keep throwing me back to the thought by leading me to stories and sites about covering during mass.
For me, wearing the headcover in the presence of the sacrament is a private devotion. I don't think it's something that is obligated anymore. I don't come from a tradition of headcovering, I've never seen my mother wear one, and she is actually rather uncomfortable with me wearing one, which is why I 'eased into' covering, with broad hairbands and caps, and buncovers etc. I don't know how it happened but about four years ago, I just... started to feel called to cover. I hate using that expression because it sounds like a 'voice from the burning bush' experience that belongs in a dramatic movie. I just kept stumbling over the idea and it somehow took root in my heart. I often compare it to a devotion to the chaplet of Divine Mercy. I think it is a beautiful devotion, and some people feel atracted to it, called to it. Others feel more atracted to the rosary, the stations of the cross.For me it has many meanings. At the forefront, I think is the fact that what is most special and most Holy is often hidden from prying eyes. A veil is a symbolic way for me to put myself apart from the hussle and bussle of daily life and devote myself to God during the time I put it on. It's a sign for my mind and body that now I am taking on a different role. With little Joseph with us during mass, that's become even more important, because it is hard to focuss on mass while you are trying to prevent little Houdini from escaping.