Everybody wears a ‘uniform’ but does it change who you are?
When a nurse or doctor put their scrubs on, it must certainly change who they are and how they feel inside. Those scrubs are their uniform. While wearing scrubs in their workplace – a hospital or clinic – I think it would change who they are in as far as what is expected of them while wearing their ‘uniform’. Those scrubs might tell patients that this person is educated and trained to care for them during a time of need in their life.
How about a construction worker when he / she puts on a hardhat. Does it make them realize that hardhats protect them on the construction site? Does it make them feel a sense of responsibility to be aware of their surroundings to avoid a catastrophe?
Does a lawyer feel more regal and confident while wearing a suit in a court room? That’s his / her uniform. The suit may have the judge and jury looking at them in a different light than if they were wearing jeans. Jeans don’t speak to others like a well-made suit does.
Recently someone asked me if I felt different when I was wearing leather, boots, dew-rags, etc. while riding my motorcycle. Yes it did. I know I walked taller and I felt empowered by this ‘uniform’. There definitely was an attitude while dressed like that.
Last weekend I was wearing an apron while baking. I didn’t think much about it until I went outside to take the wash off the line and cut some lettuce for dinner, all while wearing the apron. It threw me back into a different era. I felt very domestic and satisfied in that ‘uniform’.
The few times I’ve been blessed to wear an evening gown, I also felt different. Those are times where I was at my best because of the event, the gown, and the environment. Two and a half-years ago while dancing with my son for the mother-son wedding dance, I felt like Cinderella with the gown flowing and my son spinning me around the dance floor. This of course is the most elegant of my ‘uniforms’.
So I have to wonder if I’m alone in these feelings. Occasionally does everyone who wears something other than their day-to-day clothes feel a bit more special, elegant, accomplished, and satisfied?
A couple of times in recent years an environment made me feel different also. One of those times was when I was fortunate enough to fly first class. My son purchased a first class ticket for me, and again I felt like Cinderella at the ball. In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d be able to fly first class. That was a new feeling.
In 2015 I went to Greece on vacation. It was an extremely hot and humid August day. Several of us went down to the Ionian Sea, sat in the water to cool off, and spent a couple of hours chatting about this and that. At one moment I realized I was sitting in the sea on the other side of the world looking at colorful rocks and stones and trying to pick out a new color for my bathroom. It was exhilarating…a feeling different than any other feeling I’ve ever had.
How about the first time you get to see and hold your new grandchild? Is there a better feeling than that? I trust that if you ponder (my sister’s new favorite word) on different events and locations in your life, you too just might remember a different feeling within than you do in your day-to-day life.
I do hope everyone experiences this…it just seems to make my life a little bit more special…
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