Do you know what Kim Kardashian and I have in common? We were both sewed into our dresses for an important event. That and the fact we love our kids. But I think the similarities end there.
Kim was sewn into her dress for a star-studded event at the New York Met. She borrowed Marilyn Monroe’s dress and starved herself to fit into the form fitting dress. It was so form fitting that she had to be sewn into it.
Me? I was throwing on my flowy dress for my niece’s wedding. I asked a daughter to zip me up. That’s all that was left to do – zip up my dress and put a few touch up curls in my hair. My youngest daughter pulled the zipper up and it SPLIT! She pulled the tab back down and up and down and then she said, “Um, I think you need to get Katy to help.”
I guess since Katy sews a lot she thought she could do some zipper wizardry. Katy tugged the zipper tab up and down and up and down. It was getting worse and worse. The gap in the zipper was bigger and bigger.
Next in line for operation zipper fix was my hubby. Standing in his socks, underwear and half buttoned dress shirt, he stopped getting his suit on to put some muscle into the situation.
Nope. Still not working.
The ONE time I didn’t overpack!
As hubby and daughter pulled on the zipper, the other daughters were trying to figure out how we could switch dresses. Ha! The only daughter who brought an extra dress is half the size of me.
Hubby continued to work on the zipper while the girls finished getting ready. Finally, he was able to get the zipper teeth to come together from the waist up. Awesome – except I would have a gaping hole in the back of my dress from my butt crack to my waist.
“I can sew you into it,” Katy said. “Put it on and we will zip the top part. I’ll stitch the bottom part.”
Operation Daughters Save the Day and Dress commenced.
Hubby and I rummaged around our travel bags for sewing kits and pulled out the black thread.
Note – always take the travel sewing kits at the hotel.
Katy sat in a chair behind me and started stitching. Tara helped hubby get his cufflinks threaded through the buttonholes. Since I couldn’t move my arms to curl my hair as Katy stitched, Tara became my hairdresser.
Oldest daughter, Connie, held her iPhone flashlight to give Katy light. Then she took over with stitching and knot making.
Thirteen minutes until the wedding started and we were seven minutes away! We started running to the car.
“Don’t run, Mom! You’ll bust the stitches! We’ll get the car and pick you up at the door!”
“And grab your wrap in case the stitches don’t hold!”
Awesome! The first time my siblings and parents have been together in years and I’m making a scene. Nothing new, I guess.
They held the start of the wedding for a few minutes and we squealed into the parking lot on two wheels – or at least it felt like it.
Crisis adverted. Laughs were had.
During the dress crisis, one of my daughter’s said, “Good thing this is happening to the glass half-full girl because if it were me, I’d have tears streaming down my face driving to Target and missing the wedding.”
The Glass Half-Full Girl. I like the sound of that. Always have. I have a saying – “You can laugh or cry but I choose to laugh. And the best is to laugh until you cry.”
Life isn’t always easy. Mine hasn’t always been but I try to find the good in every situation. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
I find in all things, there is some good. Life’s messes have lessons. Maybe a hard thing makes us stronger in our resolve or our faith. Maybe a “surprise” can bring us joy unthinkable. Maybe an ending can start a much-needed beginning. A “no” can lead to a “yes.”
It doesn’t matter if the glass is half empty or half full…
Be grateful you have a glass and there is something in it. ~ Unknown
In addition to my glass half-full takeaway, I have a few more.
- Again, always grab the freebie sewing kits at the hotel
- Teach your daughters (and sons) to use a needle and thread
- Pack an extra dress
- And laugh so the little things don’t become big things