This weekend I had my daughter. She is graduating from the 8th grade of her parochial school in June. This is a very big deal in her world. She's attended this school for 10 years (kindergarten, repeated 1st grade) which is most of her entire life and certainly her entire "sentient" life. (you really don't start to live until you're mobil and can speak in my opinion)
One of our tasks this weekend was to shop for graduation gifts that she wants to give some of her classmates. That was pretty easy since she already has ideas about what she wanted. The other thing we were going to just start to do was look for a dress. She told me that she wanted to find a dress that would "blow the doors off" of her friend's dresses. Oh great! A tall order.
I suggested a few stores in varying price ranges and she seemed uncertain about where she thought she'd find a "great" dress. I didn't want to short change her, and my own dress at my 8th grade graduation has haunted me for over 20 years. I actually wore a hand me down that was recut to fit me and I'd be darned if she had anything near that embarrassing. Out of desperation I suggested a store that I well know is out of my price range and we set off to go "look" at dresses.
I feel really out of place in this store. I'm the kind of mom that wears jeans, sneakers and tshirts for most non-work hours. The store is a place where well heeled women go to maintain their image, have a fru fru lunch, enjoy the grand piano player while you try on "a few things" that would cost as much as my car payment. Yikes!! I know, it's my own fault.
We found about 8 dresses that were possibles. Some were nice but too big at size 4. ( I need to have this problem) Others were okay, but not "perfect". We actually fell in lust with two dresses that were diametrically opposed. One, a pale pink floaty knee length creation that made it believable that my daughter is a flower fairy. The other a black tailored number that was incredibly modest and yet made the most of every curve that she DOES have. We wailed and moaned at the dilema of having to make a decision. Cursing the fact that we do not have the means to buy both.
My name is Unique and I'm a shop-a-holic.
I may have to sell a kidney to pay for the dress. We went with the black one. She pranced and sashayed in the living room for an hour after we got home. I was feeling nauseous due to the impending financial famine that I just triggered. I'm so happy we found the "perfect" dress. It really is perfect for her.
So, as she pranced around the apartment I had a moment of clarity. My 14 year old daughter is becoming a woman. She's lost the fresh chubby cheeks, sprouted some grown up curves and her outlook in life is now all about high school, college and career. I can no longer buy her a happy meal and be a super hero. I should be sad, and I am a little, but mostly I'm just happy to see her living life with such energy, enthusiasm and gusto.
Now I guess I just need to grit my teeth and hold onto what will probably be a very interesting and unqiue four years of high school, boys, driver's licenses and other scary things that parents survive as their babies who are now young people navigate.
