I had this very romantic image in my mind of going shopping with my daughter for her first communion dress. When I was growing up I was what you might consider a "social butterfly" I attended lots of dances, particularly in high school and each dance required it's own special dress.
My Mother and I had been dress shopping many times for many different types of occasions and it was always so much fun. She was there and I could count on her for her honest opinion on what she thought looked best on me. She never made me feel guilty about the price, even though I know it was a consideration for her. Dress shopping with my Mom is one of my most treasured memories growing up.
I was excited to recreate this memory with my daughter when shopping for her first communion dress. In fact, I thought it would be an even better experience if we included my mom in the outing. We waited until our trip to Cleveland before we would even step foot into a store looking for the perfect dress.
I carefully chose the store we would go to, Burlington Coat Factory. I had heard from other Mom's in the class that this store had the best selection with the best prices. As we got closer to the dresses Riley broke into a run. Instantly she knew what she liked and didn't like. She proceeded to take some of the dresses off the racks. Some of the dresses she chose actually made me visibly wince. As though I had been punched in the gut. I made a few suggestions that were all quickly dismissed with a wave and a turn of the head.
We made our way to the dressing room. I proceeded to help her pull the layers of polyester blends over head. A beautiful Cinderella dress was quickly disregarded, while the dress containing the most polyester and the most sequin was just as quickly agreed to. "I love it!" Riley proclaimed.
Before I could even think of anything to say the words slipped from between my lips, "Oh my goodness" I was left with a mothers dilemma. I want to let her express her personality without being too controlling. On the other hand I found it physically impossible to shell out $75 for something so tacky.
I ushered my Mom into the dressing room for backup. "I think she is related to Pamela Anderson." was my Mom's only comment to me. We managed to talk her into taking off the dress and left the store. If our group was a cartoon we would each have a cloud over our heads. The mood was NOT good. Fortunately there was a pet store in the same shopping center that turned things around.
The next day, home in Indiana I was talking to two other Mom's in Riley's class and learned that both of them had had the same experiences with their daughters. A wave of relief washed over me. I was not a horrible control freak! Their daughters had awful taste too! One Mom even described the dress her daughter picked out with spaghetti straps and rhinestones. I felt her pain.
On Sunday Riley suggested a trip to the mall. I knew what she had on her mind, the infamous Justice. I agreed because it was somewhere to go on a dreary rainy day when Ben was working.
As we made our way through the mall we walked past JCPenny's. I convinced Riley just to take a look, I mean what could it hurt? We headed to the girls section and a sign above the dresses caught my eye, 50% off. It was a omen. I began to grow hopeful. "How about this one?" I suggested.
"Yeah sure, that one is pretty." Riley agreed. I felt my knees buckle in shock. I tried to hide my elation.
"Let's go try it on." I half shouted.
"OK and this one too." Riley said as she grabbed another dress. I agreed to pacify her.
She tried on the one she suggested and as luck would have it, it was too big. Yes, I could have gone and tried to find it in a different size, but I didn't. Then she tried on my dress. A ray of sunshine from the heavens broke through the bad lighting of the JCPenny dressing room and washed over Riley. She looked beautiful and she liked it too! I wiped a tiny tear from my cheek and checked the price tag, $35!
Fate had stepped in. I may have even done a little dance as we paid.
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