One of my primary motivations for veiling this Lent was as an act of penance for my vanity and to humble myself a little. The problem is that instead of spending lots of time and energy on my hair every morning, I'm spending it on selecting the perfect scarf to wear and making sure it coordinates with whatever outfit I have on that day. I feel like I spend most of my day fussing with my scarf either because it's super windy and the stupid thing won't stay in place, because I'm overheating and I want to re-position it so I get good air circulation underneath, or some other equally ridiculous reason. The intention was for it to make things simpler and take attention away from my appearance, but I feel like it's had the exact opposite effect.
In contrast, I will say that I have enjoyed veiling at church. I feel like it helps keep me from being distracted by the other parishioners by acting kind of like blinders. However, I think that I might actually be more of a distraction to others than I when my "glory" (my hair) was showing. In retrospect, I think the whole exercise of veiling would have been more effective and more rewarding if I had chosen to veil only at church and if I had purchased either a black or white chapel veil to wear instead. That would turn my practice of veiling into a symbol of the sanctity of the sacraments and our corporate worship. I am still considering this for myself for after Easter.
One thing that has been fun about veiling is having the opportunity to talk about it with some of my peers. For the most part, no one from nursing school has really asked me about veiling. I was actually quite surprised by this for the first few days because I had assumed that people would be curious about it. But I am very proud to say that my fellow students are very culturally competent, something which is pretty much beaten into our heads from day one, and those who have asked me about it have been very polite in doing so. Others have been reading this blog. Either way, it has been rewarding to introduce others to the idea of veiling. Even if none of them ever pick up the practice, they will be better informed should they ever encounter a patient or patient's family member who does.
As for me, I am trying to figure out a good solution for when the hubs and I take our little man cub down to Florida to visit with Grandma next week. I'm thinking I may go with some wide-brimmed sun hats in place of my lightweight scarves so I don't pass out from the heat. Oh, and did I mention how I'll be traveling via airport with the baby by myself? That should be fun. I wonder what the TSA agents will think of my headcoverings?
And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.
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