I have an announcement . . . . I am a Queen. I am aware there is no royalty in the United States of America, but that doesn’t matter. I know I am a queen because my daughter is a princess . . . at least she looked the part at her wedding gown fitting yesterday. The only thing missing was a sparkling tiara.
I have seen her in the dress before, the day we found it at a boutique in Birmingham, Alabama. But, that day, I was looking at her in a dress 4 sizes too big, held together with big clamps down the back. If you’ve ever watched Say Yes To The Dress you know what I’m talking about. Wedding boutiques use them to give you an idea of what the dress is supposed to look like from the front while the back is held together with industrial size chip clips. Yesterday was different. After a series of alterations, the dress fit her perfectly. It was her dress.
There she stood, the reflection in the mirror a beautiful, princess bride-to-be.
My thoughts drifted back to her childhood. This girl loved to play dress-up. Fortunately for her, she had a grandmother who loved sewing costumes. She had a homemade costume (or two) every Halloween and it didn’t take much for her to talk her Mom-Mom into whipping something up just to suit her fancy.
She was a princess several times; Cinderella, Esmerelda, Belle and Meg. Storybook characters like Madeline and Laura Ingalls Wilder inspired her. She had costumes to transform her into an angel, an Irish dancer, a bride, an Indian and a car hop (complete with roller skates). In the animal realm, she was a pink rabbit twice. Several of her costumes were duplicated for her beloved dolls. Not only did she play dress-up and have the most wonderful costumes for Halloween and school functions, at least 4 of her birthday parties involved some sort of dress-up.
Now, she is preparing for the ultimate dress-up day . . . that day most little girls (and their moms) dream of . . . her wedding day. She will be radiant, lovely! When she walks down the aisle, her groom will see a beautiful, princess bride. Me, I’ll see my little dress-up girl . . .all grown up.
Kim Wilbanks 
OK Kim…you did it! You made me cry but it was truly tears of joy!
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Lol . . . didn’t mean to make you cry. If its any consolation, I cried while I was writing it!
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