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Not Your Mother's Gunne Sax

She waited 14 years, 11 months and 3 days for this. The 9th grade night dance. She wanted a dress. I quickly pulled her to my closet where I had been saving for over two and half decades, my beautiful, gauzy Gunne Sax dresses. TADA!

She was underwhelmed.

Apparently, there is an unpublished dress code. All girls must buy a new dress. It must be a rite of passage.

Store after store after store, trying on different dresses, mentally sewing a piece of fabric across the bust or back until we finally had a winner.

We had, however, forgotten about the tradition her body insists on performing when important events are about to occur. There was the major field trip to a historical military outpost she had been looking forward to in the 4th grade. She got strep.

Stomach flu has visited her twice at the annual Bear Lake family reunion and twice in St. George.

Her first time at a college campus for a church camp, Especially For Youth fell on her fourth day of Swine Flu.

This time around she had dress rehearsal for the "Young Women General Broadcast" at the conference center in Salt Lake City. After going to practices for the past month every Sunday, if she missed the dress rehearsal, she wouldn't sing. She went this morning at 7:00. She came home at 1:00 aching, tired, and in tears. Her dad took her to the doctor. Strep.

After crying for an hour in acceptance of not going to the big night dance, she slept for a couple of hours. I made appropriate alterations for the dress. She'd wear it to church. Next week.

She woke up. "I'm feeling just fine," she announced, her eyes still red and kind of sleepy looking. She took a shower, dressed, and was issued stern orders to not breathe on anybody.

Read: No slow dancing.

Maybe strep isn't so bad.

Comments

  1. Kristina P.March 20, 2010 at 9:35 PM

    OH, that still sucks though!! Hope she gets better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmyMarch 21, 2010 at 2:36 AM

    Oh, the memories this brings back. I was supposed to perform at a church camp in India one year. We practiced for weeks, if not months. Two days before the event I came down with the flu. The day of, with supreme effort, I pulled myself out of bed and told the youth leader I was ready to do it. I nearly had her convinced when my mom popped into the room with a thermometer. Drat! Busted!

    Hope the dance is a wonderful memory for your daughter.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SusanMarch 21, 2010 at 6:15 AM

    I'm glad to hear she got to go. I hope she had a good time! I can relate on getting sick before important events though...

    ReplyDelete
  4. June Freaking CleaverMarch 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    My oldest had a date lined up, and the prom dress all ready to go in the closet- then came down with mono.

    She not only missed the prom, she missed a month of senior year, and almost didn't graduate (but I "rescued" her by picking up all her assignments at school during her convalescence).

    ReplyDelete
  5. FoursonsMarch 21, 2010 at 9:47 AM

    Oh no! The poor thing, did she have a good time anyway?

    Which one is she in the picture?

    ReplyDelete
  6. A Musing Mom (Taylorclan6)March 21, 2010 at 12:49 PM

    She's the beautiful one! Okay, they are all pretty stunning, aren't they? Back row, second from right.

    She's got a shiny face. It's the sick sweat. But she was bound and determined to go and have a good time, darnit!

    ReplyDelete

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