the story of the little, red dress... I awoke Sunday morning, very excited because I had planned on shopping most of the day. My primary goal was to buy a suitable dress to be married in. I also needed some bigger maternity clothes, including more underwear. So I set off, first stopping by Target for the underwear and more toothpaste. I ended up with quite a cartful there, including a whole new outfit. Then I was happily off to the mall. First to Motherhood. I was hoping that they might just happen to have some nice dresses in there, but they didn't. Unless you count the numerous black dresses that I liked. Please keep in mind that my initial thought for a wedding dress was to be something very simple, not formal. The simple black dresses were catching my eye, but they're just not suitable for the occasion. To ease my disappointment, I bought lots of other stuff. Then, off to JCPenny. The tough part about that place was that there was no maternity section. So I did the next best thing and went to the plus sizes. Again, besides the cute black dresses, nothing. Off to Sears, where a nice little white dress jumped out at me first thing. It had a jacket over it that I didn't like so much, but the dress underneath seemed, at least at first glance, alright. I took it and another similar dress to the dressing room and was astonished at how one dress can make someone look so hideous. Not only did I look huge, but frumpy and old as well. I quickly re-dressed and practically ran out of that dressing room. Back upstairs where I tromped down to Dillards. Cousin Christie was working at the Lancomb counter, so I chatted with her for a few minutes. Again, Dillards did not have a maternity section either, so she held my bags for me while I journeyed upstairs to to the big girls racks. I ended up being drawn to a crowd of women and girls in the formal dress section. There was quite a clearance going on with racks upon racks of sparkly, colorful prom-like dresses smashed so tightly together that you could barely pull them down. I was pleased to find not only one dress that I fell in love with, but 6 of them in a rainbow of colors. I carried them all back to the dressing room, strategically ignoring the "three garment limit" sign and snuck into an unused room. The first two dresses fit (which in itself was an exciting thing) but something about the way they hung on my lumpy body just wasn't right; but as I tried on the third one of the long, red persuasion, I knew that this was something I could definitely make some vows in. Just for fun I tried on the rest of them. Big mistake for I could not even get the zippers up half way on any of them. I think any girl can relate that this is not a good feeling and I left the dressing room feeling like one of those big bouncy red balls - the really big ones. But as I lay my red dress down on the counter, I smiled, somewhat nervously. It was exciting knowing that I would soon be marrying my best friend, and I would be wearing red. I could feel the beginnings of some deep emotions as I took the two escalators downstairs to the men's department and picked out a matching red tie for Mike.

At this point, I could feel my introversion side taking over. My feet were throbbing and I needed to get out of there fast. I picked up my bags and bid farewell to Christie, not forgetting to set up a make-up appointment for the wedding day and lugged my heavy bags and even heavier body out of Dillards. On the way to the door, I walked by Gymboree and impulsively thinking I should maybe buy something red for Macy on my way out. A first-time Gymboree shopper, I was in awe of the tiny little outfits, especially the little socks! My eye was drawn to the color red toward the back of the store and I headed there. The first thing I noticed was the cutest, tiniest, red dress. Without even looking at the price I snatched it up, along with the tiny leggings that went with it. As I stood there holding the mini-garments, I could feel tears rolling down my eyes. It hit me, I was buying a dress for my daughter. The salesgirl walked up behind me as I was trying to sober myself up, but I was too late. She asked if I was ok and I explained to her my recent realization. She ooh'ed and aah'ed and led me to the cash register, asking all sorts of questions like due date, name, etc. She also told me that the little red dress was her favorite thing in the store right now and called her co-worker up to the desk to confirm her story. So as she wrapped everything up, she handed me a gift box and told me to wrap up the dress to put under my christmas tree. And I think I will.