The Wedding Dress

Dear girls,
Someday you will choose a vocation. It will be marriage, single life or serving God. I pray daily for your path and know you will make the right wise choice. We played dress up today in Mommy's wedding dress and veil and as we did I shared with you the memories of my own courtship with your daddy and how fortunate I am to have him. We talked a lot about respect and what true love is. When you both asked me if you looked beautiful I told you yes but reminded you that your heart and inward beauty were far more important. For outward beauty fades but truth and conviction lasts forever. I know your own marriages are many moons away but for a moment I could catch a glimpse of the woman you each will become. I will remember this day when you are grown and possibly walking down the aisle in your own dress. I will recall the sweet little girl smiling in her Mommy's dress and I will wish we had played dress up just a bit longer.
"These are my daughters, I suppose. But where in the world did the children vanish?" -Phyllis McGinley

Sidenote: the girls loved doing this but both agreed that they would want their very own dress to pick out if they chose marriage. Emerson fell in love with my veil and didn't want to take it off. I told her she could wear it at her communion. Julia surprised me as she dislikes dressing up but she did have fun and seemed to transform into an angel before my eyes. I don't know yet what I plan to do with the actual dress. It has been sitting in that sealed box for almost 15 years. I know a dress makes not a wedding, and it was merely a symbol of my pure love for my Tony. It did make for a great conversation starter with the girls. I do not know God's plan for my daughters. I pray for guidance in their walk and I pray that they always keep their heart open to His voice. Yes, I must confess I tried on the dress too and after four kids and almost 15 years later it slipped right on like a miracle. I have been told that could change in my 40's though.