Thursday, July 21, 2016

Playing dress up with memories

Beginning our lives together

Next month Hubby and I will celebrate 49 years of marriage. We had not seen my wedding dress since our wedding August 26, 1967.

After the wedding, my mother had thoughtfully looked into a local dry cleaners’ advertisement to clean and secure wedding dresses in a “treasure box” that would maintain them in pristine condition.

And so it resided in its treasure box on the top shelf of the closet in my former bedroom until 2009. The dress then took up residence in our home, still unopened in its treasure box.

Hubby found the box as we were sorting what to take to our new house. He wondered had my wedding dress crumbled to dust, fallen apart or remained in good repair.

“Do you want to open it?” He left the decision to me.

With our Georgia crew arriving for a few days around July 4, I wanted to wait until our daughter-in-law and granddaughters could participate in the “grand opening.”

The day came. Anticipation thrummed through me as Hubby and DIL Sarah worked at unpacking the box. And there it was. Our wedding photos have faded with time, and I had forgotten how pretty it was.

There were, however, signs of aging. The thread that secured the seed pearls adorning the bodice had failed in places, and some of the tiny pearls were missing.

There was also a brown discoloration in a fold along the hem. We had assumed that Katrina’s wind and pine tree through the roof at the back of Mother’s house in 2005 had not damaged the front rooms, but maybe water had found its way into that box.

The seams, however, were in great shape.

Ten-year-old Charlie was entranced.

“Could I try it on, Nana,” she asked, eyes wide.

“If it is okay with your mother.”

“Sure,” Sarah responded. “It will be like playing dress up.”

Granddaughter tugs at this grandmother's heart.

I teared up, snapped photos and cried some more.

“I love it,” Charlie said. “May I wear it for my wedding?”

“Yes, that would make me so happy. But only on two conditions,” I said. “One, you can’t run off and get married, or have a quick wedding, because there are some repairs and alterations that would need to be done.

“Two, when you are ready to get married years from now (Note heavy emphasis on “years from now”), your ideas may have changed about what you want your dress to look like.”

Charlie loves designing, shopping for fabrics and sewing, from dresses to ponchos. And she has never used a pattern.

“You won’t hurt my feelings if you change your mind. Promise you will choose what you want.”

Then Mom Sarah reiterated that a wedding would be far into her 10-year-old offspring’s future--very, very far.

And after Charlie showed her dad the picture of herself in the dress, did I really hear him say “She’s not going to date until she’s 36”?

 Baboo and granddaughter share a sweet moment.


-30-

16 comments:

  1. i love that final shot of the kiss, Charlie looks so sweet in the dress, and since she is a designer and can sew, i am sure she can make that dress work well when she is ready... i like the wedding photo to... how ever does time go so fast

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  2. Oh my, this is just wonderful!! And she looks just as beautiful in the dress as you did. The pictures are great. How cool that the dress in is good shape, except for a few tiny things. The last picture is so sweet! This dress looks a bit like my wedding dress.

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  3. This made me all teary eyed, Linda.
    Your granddaughter is beautiful and looks like a princess in your dress.
    Your dress is beautiful too. I'm glad it has stayed so perfect for you.
    Time really goes so fast.
    I think I will have to go into my archives and post a Throwback Thursday photo of my Granddaughter in my wedding dress.
    We were renewing our vows and had the dress as part of the decor. Lauren wanted to try it on too.
    Ok, I think I will go do that right now.
    Sue

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  4. What a sweet photo of grandpa kissing Charlie.

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  5. What a sweet story and happy tears would have been mandatory. I guess that cleaner did a decent job and how sweet that your grand wants that to be her wedding dress.
    You two were adorable 49 years ago and are still cute today.

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  6. This is very, very sweet! I loved seeing your almost 49 year old photo and also the ones of your granddaughter in the dress. Bob and I will celebrate our 50th in August, and we searched and searched to find where we had stored our wedding album. Finally, today we rescued it, and have been smiling at those old photos ever since.

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  7. Good luck with that not dating until you are age 36. You sure picked a true gallant to marry.

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  8. What a delightful story and enjoyed the pictures. Ah, dressup time!

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  9. Thanks Linda for the kind remarks just now on my blog.
    Steve really is an awesome person.
    He constantly makes lemonade out of the lemons tossed his way.
    By the way, did you see the photos on my blog with my Granddaughter in my wedding dress?
    Its a few posts back from the birthday one.
    Have a great weekend.
    Sue

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  10. AWWWWW, what a sweet post! My gown is buried in a trunk in the attic. I can't climb up there, so it will remain until I remember it on a cool day and get one of the grands to go after it. I am sure it will not be in as good a shape as yours though! Your granddaughter is adorable and the last shot should be saved to put in her wedding album.

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  11. Such a beautiful photo of your granddaughter dressing up in dreams - yours and hers.

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  12. What a sweet, sweet story. I loved the photo of you, but the one of your granddaughter, now that is a real heart tugger. I'm glad you saw her in this dress while she was still young and awestruck and oh so innocent. I hope much of that remains until she dates at 36.

    Thanks for sharing this.

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  13. What a wonderful entry and dress. I teared up too. So glad to see you again.

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  14. Oh my what a great story. We just had our 50th and my brides wedding dress was on display for the festivities...:)

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  15. This is very touching. How lucky that it survived and helped create this moment.

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  16. Wish I had your email address so we could stay in touch.
    Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog.
    The answer is YES, my Granddaughter has the sweetest spirit , is so smart, funny and a joy to be around.
    Sue

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