The Dress.

<p>(I promise this is not becoming a wedding blog…)</p>
<p>So… <em>I bought a dress</em>…&#0160; If you are friends with me on facebook you probably already know that, and you also probably know that I showed a picture of it to Jeff.</p>
<p>(Pausing momentarily so you have time to let out a gasp.)</p>
<p><em>I know</em>.&#0160; Trust me, I&#39;ve already gotten the &quot;stink eye&quot; from several people who now think my marriage to Jeff is more cursed than the Red Sox were between the years of 1918 and 2004.&#0160; I know there are some traditions that we shouldn&#39;t let go of so quickly….&#0160; But, <em>my dears</em>, I believe strongly that the fate of my marriage to Jeff is already written somewhere in stone, and showing him the dress is not going to change that (there are no stone erasers.)&#0160; Rest assured, there are plenty of other surprises in store for everyone at the wedding (including Jeff)&#0160;- the dress is one I am ok with sharing…&#0160;</p>
<p>Where were we?&#0160; Oh Right…&#0160; So, shopping for a wedding dress is a bit of a&#0160;surreal experience.&#0160; I was already nervous about it heading into the dress shop, and it proved to be even more nerve-wracking and awkward than even my wildest dreams.&#0160;</p>
<p>(<strong>SIDE NOTE:</strong>&#0160; Those of you who do not know me in person should know that I am actually a very shy, quiet, and introverted person who – contrary to popular belief – would rather be anything but the center of attention…..&#0160; If I could let go of my <em>inner-little-girl</em> I&#39;d have been getting married in a pair of jeans and a cardigan sweater…&#0160; But alas, what girl&#0160;doesn&#39;t dream of the day she gets to wear a pretty white dress??)</p>
<p>I was joined by my Mom and Alyza, and I have to give&#0160;both of those ladies&#0160;credit for sticking with me, even when I came out of the dressing room in some crazy looking things (like the one dress Alyza told me made me&#0160;walk like a penguin.&#0160; <em>Awesome</em>.) &#0160;And let me just say…&#0160; There is a reason why most women do this BEFORE surrendering their bodies to producing and housing other human beings…&#0160; (<strong>ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE:</strong> shout-out to my sales girl Jeanne, who was a trooper about sausaging my Momma-body into these sheaths of satin and lace…)</p>
<p><em>It was the very first dress I put on</em>…&#0160; I came out of the dressing room, and thought, &quot;Hey, not too shabby.&quot;&#0160; But I figured I should at least try on a few others,&#0160;since I was bound and determined to laugh at myself at least once.&#0160; At some point during the process, I commented to my Mom about how the&#0160;dresses were so big&#0160;it felt like they were wearing&#0160;me, and that was when&#0160;Jeanne told me to put the first one back on.&#0160; So I did….</p>
<p>And there it was.&#0160; <em>My&#0160;dress</em>.&#0160; Something had happened between the first time and the second time that made it more perfect than anything else.&#0160; &#0160;My Mom&#0160;asked me to go stand on the pedestal (NOOOOOOO!&#0160; NOT THE PEDESTAL!&#0160; <em>ANYTHING BUT THE PEDESTAL!!!</em>) and I obliged…&#0160;&#0160;I was standing next to a girl much younger than me, in a very beautiful ball-gown with a blue sash, and she said, &quot;<em>you look so pretty</em>.&quot;&#0160; I returned the&#0160;compliment, and then turned around as my Mom snapped a picture, and&#0160;my daughter held an imaginary camera up to her face and pressed the shutter, &quot;I&#39;m putting you into my memories,&quot; she said.&#0160;&#0160;</p>
<p>So, here are four of the dresses I tried on that day…&#0160; See if you can guess which one it is…&#0160; No guesses if you are one of the very few who have already seen it (Sorry, Babe!)&#0160;</p>
<p><a href=”http://sj.blogs.com/.a/6a00d834521f8569e20154339e29b7970c-pi” style=”display: inline;”><img alt=”Dressgame” class=”asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d834521f8569e20154339e29b7970c” src=”http://sj.blogs.com/.a/6a00d834521f8569e20154339e29b7970c-800wi” style=”width: 770px;” title=”Dressgame” /></a>&#0160;</p>
<p>Two things I learned from the experience:&#0160; #1 – Be open-minded.&#0160; I was actually surprised to learn that I liked a style of dress that I did not go in thinking I would like…&#0160; And #2 – I need to add &quot;spray tan&quot; to my list of things to do before the wedding.</p>
<p>XO!</p>