Buying that Mother of the Bride Dress

Yesterday, that is Saturday, August 14, I bought my dress for Megan and Jason's wedding three weeks from now. For several months, friends have asked what kind of dress I bought, to which I answered, haven't done that yet. Even on a trip back East where I had the great opportunity to visit with a friend I hadn' seen in 18 years, one question she posed, "So what does your dress look like?" "Haven't bought it yet." She tried not to show a reaction but the crinkle of her brow said it all, "What!?"

Yes, many mothers of the brides would have purchased that bedazzling dress many moons ago, but not me. First and foremost, I hate shopping....a virtually life long distain for walking through perfume clogged air, florescent lights, racks and racks of clothes and tile floors. It goes back to the days of Mother calling me from a friendly game of stickball on the street, to "go shopping." Ugh, I'd trudge up the street into the 1959 Ford and off we'd go to Lord and Taylors or Best and Company. There I'd stand for hours as Mother stood at the glass counter case purchasing perfectly formed nylon stockings. The retail clerk, turning to an array of drawers, opening one and taking out a box filled with tissue papered nylon stockings. (Mother always paid more for the ones without the seam down the back.) The clerk would hold a pair up for Mother's inspection and as she pondered the right color and quality, I slid down the glass case front exhausted from standing for eternity and utter boredom. Purchase made but never carried home, that was for the UPS driver to do, we'd move onto MAKEUP...I can't relay what happened at that counter, forever blocking it out of my memory.

But yesterday, I knew it had to be done and so with my wonderful husband, off we went. After pulling into the Burnsville Mall parking lot, I handed the keys to Ted.

"Why give them to me? It's your car, you drive."

"No I don't want to drive home, I'll be too frustrated." With that he took the keys. Entering the mall, he reminded me that this wasn't shopping, it was a mission. Shopping is when you go out with your girlfriends and spend the whole day either buying everything or nothing. Really? My friends and I sit and buy coffee and laugh. Who knew?

Going from one department store to another it became apparent I would have to go to a specialty store. The taylored, simple dress I envisioned for my mind's eye 30 something body wasn't there. Not even the taylored, simple dress for the really almost 60 year old square body wasn't available. It was back in the car and off to David's Bridal and another world.



Opening the door to David's Bridal, I was almost stampeded by five young women laughing and cahorting as bridesmaid do, they too had probably just purchased dresses they will wear again... sure they will. As my eyes adjusted to the light and all the white wedding dresses, I heard Paul Anka telling me this was the time of my life. Ted and I made our way to the rack of mother of the bride dresses for bigger mommas, we did spot some very nice ones. Whew, it would most likely be the last stop. After discussing a few, I chose two to try on. A very nice young lady escorted me to a dressing room and waited outside with Ted. I liked the feel of the dress, a soft green with beading and a three quarter sleeve jacket. The full length skirt felt a bit snug but I liked the movement of it. Stepping out of the room and up onto the platform I looked at the woman in the mirrors, yes that's right mirrors. From every conceivable angle I saw...me. The young lady continued to chatter with me, I kept looking at Ted for a reaction. He sat motionless for a few minutes and finally said, "I like the dress on you, perhaps the next size would look better, it would flow better."

"Ah, you mean, this is too tight and shows all my rolls?" At that the young lady excused herself to "get something."

My husband, my dearest husband stepped up to me, took both my hands in his, looked at me with his wonderful blue eyes and said," I'm going to order that Chuck Norris exercise equipment, now that we have room for it since we cleaned up the upstairs hallway and you're going to exercise like crazy to get down to that girlish size 14. You know we haven't exercised all summer and all that ice cream and stuff we've been eating...."

"I can't believe you are saying that to me now...I mean, and I trailed off.

"I'll go get the next size", he whispered.

He did and I tried it on and after alterations to take it in which cost more than the dress, plus the slip and the shoes, the shopping, I mean the mission was done. Everything will be picked up Sept. 1, plenty of time for the wedding three days later.