Oh, the joy of Springtime!
Trees and flowers in bloom, the joy of Easter, sunshine, cool breezes.
Almost everything about spring is loveable. Almost.
Being that it is the season prior to Summer (read: bathing suit season) it means that it is the usual time that one preps for Summer (read: buys bathing suits)!
I normally just run to my safety net of Land's End because even though each top and bottom is about $55 on average. At least I would know that I was getting good quality material and enough bathing suit to cover me...as far as bathing suits are concerned.
As far as bathing suits are concerned is the part that is bothering me a bit more each year as I get older. I realize that we, as a culture, accept being covered less in the name of "Summer". I now wonder why. During the same summer, I will never be caught going to the mall or dinner (or anywhere for that matter) wearing a mini skirt or a halter top. But for the past 2 years, that is exactly what my bathing suit consisted of. I would wear a t-shirt over my top until at the beach or a pool for modesty, but as soon as I laid in the sun or went in the water, my suit was apparently modest...enough.
Enough...is the part that is making it difficult for me to consider bathing suits this year. I've never been a big "on the fence" type about anything. So why is it okay for me to consider a bathing suit that is more revealing than any clothes I'd choose to dress in? Modest is Modest. Just because a suit consists of more than a few triangles and strings, does not make it modest. Only on occasion will I leave the house in a sleeveless tank top, and never in anything higher than a few inches above my knee. Not only for modesty sake, but for comfort sake as well.
Modest is Modest. Some have tossed out the idea "do I swim in public at all?". Some have given in and bought the full coverage modest bathing suits. The issue may reside in the fact that defining modesty is really hard to do. I've always understood it to mean that someone is not trying to do anything to draw attention to themselves. This is an entire attitude. My goal has been to be modest. I fail because I am by nature loud and sometimes even needy for attention. In addition to not drawing attention to oneself, I believe that modesty is important because in choosing to live it out, we make a responsible choice to also to protect others. I think this is at the core of social responsibility. Respecting our own dignity and honoring it so that others have no chance to degrade it.
I believe I have come to the decision that I am to stay dry this Summer season and in my regular non-revealing clothes(*). I may purchase a bathing suit similar to one I've had in the past just in case I go back to Haiti (I would need it to go in the river to wash up). It will be a challenge since I love to swim, but a worthy sacrifice to offer up in the name of modesty.
I'd love to hear your comments/thoughts.
(*): Disclaimer: This is what I have come to for my own self. I am not saying this is the only answer or only way to do it. Just sharing with awhat I've discerned for me at this point on my journey. I do not think any wrong against those who disagree or judge you who still continue to buy a bathing suit/swim! Have a blast! (Hopefully you will do it as modestly as you discern fit)
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