She’s Really Getting Married

A precious friend is fitting Gig’s wedding dress and last week she sent a text to say it was ready for the first fitting. And she added, “It’s one of the best made wedding dresses I’ve ever seen.”

And I got so excited! Then I burst into tears.

Somehow, knowing that, made the whole thing seem… well, right now – not “down the road a bit”. We’ve spent the last year talking about her getting married and the things that she wants and where it’s going to be and who’s going to be there. And fitting the dress brought it all front and center.

It isn’t about loosing my baby girl…it’s more the changes that I know will be right around the corner.

When we had this little girl, we didn’t think about the day that she’d walk down the aisle. We were counting fingers and toes. And the years flew by and she became my friend as well as my child. She became someone who I was so proud of…she went off to college (maybe dated some duds along the way), then she graduated, got a job, bought a house and learned, and loved, to DIY all on her own (playing with the electricity still scares me). And made her home and…well, grew up.

And now she’s getting married. In just a few weeks.

I already know that I’m going to cry. I’m a crier. But they will be happy tears – for my precious child/friend. And for the future she’s going to share with a very, very lucky man.

And the dress is going to look beautiful on her. Because she’s beautiful.

The Momma Dress

So Gig & The Beau got engaged December a year ago. And the wedding is in April.

Last week, my “momma dress” arrived. I was a little worried about it. (OK, maybe more than a “little”.) I’d found it online then couldn’t find one locally to try on. I even bought another dress – a really pretty navy sequined short dress – that I knew by the time I got it home that it wasn’t what I wanted to wear. Then I finally found THE DRESS. So I grabbed a friend, ran down to Dallas, tried it on in a short version, different color, picked the color, paid for it all in about a 5 minute time period. Got in the car and thought, “What did I just do?! Does Gig even LIKE this dress?!” Then I saw the picture we’d snapped and I wouldn’t even show it to people because I thought it looked bad – more like boobs with no waist. What had I done?!

So, last week they called. (BTW – a great shout out to Circle Park Bridal. I love the owner.) The day of reckoning. So Fred & I ran down Saturday to pick it up. I was nervous. Real nervous. If I hated this dress it was going on Craigslist and Gig was probably going to kill me…or The Beau’s mom who waited for me to pick. (Did you know that etiquette is that the MOB picks first? Yeh, me either.)

Fred wouldn’t go away so I could try this on alone and therefore throw what’s known in the South as a hissy fit if need be (and yes, there ARE reasons for a hissy fit sometimes). But then, cue the angels singing, OMG it was lovely! I love it! Thank. You. Jesus!

And then the euphoria started! I don’t look like a blimp! It’s a lovely dress! It’s got pockets! It’s too long! (I don’t know that I’ve ever had a dress that was too long.) It’s comfortable. And Gig, she said the nicest things – “It’s perfect. You look beautiful.” And I think for the first time since I bought it, I could breathe. And Fred said it took me about an hour and a half to come down to earth.

This getting married stuff is hard on the momma.

The Old Man

The Old Man

I lost a great friend this week…and I’m still grieving..and trying to avoid going in the back yard. And I’m really sad…and thankful…that I was out of town when it happened. Cowardly, I know.

We’d come to call him, “The Old Man” because sweet Jake was 16 years old. That’s 112 approximately in dog years!

There’s a song from long ago by The Pirates of the Mississippi, Feed Jake with a line that goes, “Feed Jake, He’s been a Good Dog”. And The Old Man was a GOOD dog.

Happy Dog

He was the first gift I ever received from my step son… he was supposed to be a miniature dachshund. That’s what he SAID he was getting me. But then he came in with this ball of fur with HUGE feet…and I was keeping him because he gave him to me!

He was a husky-shepherd mix with a black tongue and coarse hair…who shed like a mohair sweater! But, he never had an accident in the house and he was very quiet and just a Great Big Love.

One morning before daylight I was working in the living room, when this sound like the front of the house was coming off got me on my feet running! It was Jake going after someone who wasn’t supposed to be there. He’d raced across the front porch between me and the intruder. He didn’t make a lot of noise, but when he did, like EF Hutton, you listened.

And he LOVED car rides! I’m so glad on the last days that I spent with him, I took him out for a ride. He stuck his nose in the air, not really strong enough to sit up to hang his head out. When he was younger, he was almost royal-like on a car ride. Sitting up at attention, watching everything go by. He loved car rides.

Grey Beard

In His Spot

Gig “borrowed” him once…for about 6 months…while she found and began to raise W. And Jake was a great “big brother”. When W had finally pestered Jake enough, he had this tone that said, “Enough!” I hope W learned how to be a good dog from him.

So we’ve said Goodbye with lots of tears ..and a hope that he’s comfortable once more and riding around Heaven. He was a Good Dog. Well Loved. And Terribly missed.

Going Home

A Night at the OCC

Dallas TX Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Processing Center processed THE.LAST.OCC.BOX – in the US – on it’s way to Niger- last night. A pastor from Rwanda had met the final packers 10 years previously through an OCC box received in his town because they had included their email address in a note in the box. And as they were packing, in the only quiet moment of the evening, someone began to softly sing….”Silent Night. Holy Night. All is calm. All is quiet”..and the entire packing group joined in acapella… It was a goose bump moment. One small OCC box moving down the line in the near-silent warehouse, scanned with a “Follow Me” tag to track it’s journey.

It was our third night this season to volunteer at the Dallas Center. The first night was almost accidental…hey wanna go? Sure. Every night after that…and next year…was because we wanted to be there.

Fred @ OCC

We had so much fun!

OCC is Or-ga-nized! From online volunteer registering to the short instructional video of why the station you’re working is important, to the amazing staff there to answer any question in an amazing amount of time, to the almost magical way empty boxes disappear and another full box is ready and waiting to be processed.

Dallas had over 20,000 volunteers from Nov 20 to Dec 15 working from 9am to 10pm. Many were repeaters. Lots came from out of town. They processed over 640,000 boxes. OCC nationwide will send out more than 7 million boxes…and still some children will go without.

We were told that these 3 things were basic to every box: a toothbrush of the child’s own so they didn’t have to share (and thus helping to stop the spread of HIV in some areas) -um, they had me at “share”, a pencil – 1 pencil allows the child to do basic school work (education), and lastly a small toy – any toy – because predators use these types of items to lure children to unimaginable lives and when the child has their own toy, they are less likely to be lured.

My boxes will be packed differently next year. First, a t-shirt, a box of pencils, a toothbrush and a toy will go in. But there will also be a picture of my family and a note to the child. And there will be more of my heart packed in.

Some of the most precious notes. One of the first ones I saw, had a simple handwritten note, “God loves you and we do too”. Or the one that began, “Dear Princess, You are the daughter of the Most High King”…and the one from 3 men from Texas, grown men who took the time to take a picture and make i-dont-know-how-many-boxes-but-a-lot that says, “Hello from Texas, Bo, Daniel and Mike”. Or the child’s handprint note that read, “when you put your hand on my handprint, I’ll be praying for you”.

If your season is a little bah-humbug, a night at the OCC Processing Center will change that. You’ll walk away so grateful for the abundance you have that you don’t even think about. One pencil and I’m picky about the pen I use! One toothbrush – my family each have our own favorite toothpaste not just an unshared toothbrush! And a Dollar Tree toy. These can change the life of a child.

So, why was going and standing on concrete for 4 hours fun? I’m not sure. Maybe it was because it’s all fast paced. Maybe it was the music – from Christmas to worship to Randy Travis. Maybe it was the guys when they got one of the boxes packed shouting like banshees, “We got another box!!!” IDK. But every night we were there, we walked away excited and ready to go do it again. Maybe it was just doing something for the greater good. I really. dont. know. But we’re already planning to go again next year. To take a little bit of time out of the hustle and bustle of the American Christmas season and spend a few nights doing something that left us feeling ……blessed.