Quest for modesty

So I think that this might just end up as a set of ramblings/complaints about the world/myself.  One of my biggest personel challenges right now has been my quest for modesty. 

• What is modesty? 
• How much is too much to show? 
• How much should I cover? 
• Where should my basis for this be?
• How much should I consult my husband?

I am asking these questions because of a lot of what I see at University, but also (and mostly) what I see at Church.  My husband and I, while devote Catholics, do not attend one specific Church but visit a different Church each week (all Catholic).  We see women and young girls at these Churches, drawn up from conservative families, wearing inappropriate clothing at Church.  I think that these ideas started with my also when I was trying to search for a modest wedding dress (as in, not strapless) and was getting very concerned.  In the end, I found a seamstress who turned a beautiful white shawl with some beading into sleeves for me.  My husband was not too concerned with what I wore that day, as he knew how hot it was going to be outside (we got married mid-summer) and was more concerned with me being comfortable.  He knew that there was no way I could get by in longer sleeves.  After the wedding, we went camping on our honeymoon.  I found it challenging there to stay modest with a limited wardrobe and extreme heat.  Once we got back from our honeymoon, it was time for us to be full time students again.  On my first day back at school, I saw a girl actually wearing this to school-- a strapless black bathing suit with a sheer mini skirt.  That's it!!!  I couldn't believe it.  Was I that out of touch with things that I had missed the fact that it was cool to wear your swimsuit to school?!?  I was, at the time, wearing a mid-length skirt and t-shirt.  I just couldn't believe the difference in outfits.  I'm sure this young lady thought she looked very nice but so did I.  As school kept going, I noticed how young women, especially unmarried women, would only dress up or dress modestly if they had some formal presentation or meeting with a proffesor.  Other married students wore sweats and baggy clothes because 'they had no one they needed to impress'.  When asked what I did one weekend, I told a friend that I had baked banana bread.  His response was that I was so domestic, like it was something horrible that no one would ever choose. 

Ok, so this brings me to New Years.  My resolution this year was to try to wear skirts at least 4 days a week.  I chose this because I find that skirts remind me that I am somehow different and set apart from my husband, while still one with him.  I've found this to be a great challenge and have really enjoyed it.  A couple of things that I have found challenging lately is getting shirts that are not too tight but have femininity.  My usual rule is three fingers under the colar bone and four fingers across each shoulder.  I have heard of different standards for what makes a modest shirt and this is the aspect that I find the most challenging.  Another thing that I am finding challenging is including my husband in this process.  I am trying to ask his opinion more and trying to brainstorm some ideas.  I love asking his opinion as it is sometimes drastically different than mine.  This is something that I definitely need to do more of.  I am planning on only wearing skirts once we move in a few months.  I am actually really exciting about this.  Any suggestions/questions.  I would love to hear any feedback!!  Let me know!

A Sick Day

Today is my first sick day in a long time.  It's actually been kind of nice because I took a day to work through some reasearch I need to do for my papers this semester.  The paper that I worked on the most today is for my history class called "The History of the Failure of Development".  I am writting my paper on the intersection of post-Vatican II documents and the beautiful social justice teachings of the Catholic church.  I am loving getting to read these beautiful books that I have been meaning to look at for such a long time.  Like one of them that I just finished reading says, the Church's beautiful social teachings are often only cited as critiques and not as a moral compass by social and political leaders of our time. 
How wonderful it would be if only we could live by the idea that subsistence living was a goal to be met by all.  Yesterday, my husband said something that made me very happy and that I am hoping to live by soon-- he asked that, once we move in May, that we try to live by a more locally produced, sustainable, and organic diet.  I loved the sound of that.  I think the change in his opinion is stemming from the fact that, for once, we will not be students and will be more available to purchase this wonderful fod source.  I think we are also seeing all the garbage we put into our bodies and realizing that now is the time to cut all that stuff out.  We are starting to see our parents and the results of some of the choices they have made and want to make different choices for our own lives. I guess what makes me the most excited about all of this is that it would be a goal that my husband and I could work towards together.  While I do most of the cooking, he has a large say in what I create and how our budget is spent.  It think that learning to use more local ingrediens would require more creativity on my part but also some budget creativity on his part.  I will hopefully keep you posted as to how things go once we make the move!