by Patty Wade Copyright 2002
“Mommy, can’t I get your wedding dress out of that big box and try it on?” Do you know how many times in the last five years I’ve heard that question? My seven-year old daughter has been asking that particular question since she could first talk and discovered the wedding pictures of her dad and me. Do you know how many times I’ve replied, “Honey, I can’t get that dress out, it’s sealed and preserved?” During the past year I have been thinking about that answer, “sealed and preserved.” What in the world have I sealed and preserved and for what occasion? Do you know anybody that actually has worn her mother’s wedding gown? (I know, there are a couple of exceptions, but it’s very rare; you’ll have to agree!). I was in another mother’s home during the past year and in her foyer was a beautiful portrait of her five-year-old daughter wearing her wedding dress. It was the most precious picture I have seen that of a glowing little girl pretending to be like the person she adored the most. I asked the mother, “Aren’t you concerned about preserving your dress?” Her reply was simple. “No, it’s something my daughter had wanted to put on for years and I finally decided that the dress wasn’t that important to keep it from her.”
Last Thursday I went to school and picked up my daughter and headed to a local studio. The wedding dress was with us. I don’t know who had more fun that hour. Taylor Anne had her biggest seven-year-old wish come true and her face glowed in every shot. The photographer enjoyed every minute moving this large dress around a small body and bare feet. And, I couldn’t help but have teary eyes knowing that this dress had been preserved for this very moment. A moment that was priceless, filled with imagination and excitement. A little girl pretending to be like the person she adored the most. I almost missed this moment trying to preserve a dress for an occasion that would never be. Sometimes it takes the wish of a child’s heart to help us grown-ups realize that the precious moments we think are in the future are happening right now. How many other “sealed and preserved” items, thoughts, deeds, and words need to be unveiled now while our precious children are still small and innocent enough to enjoy.
“Mommy, can’t I get your wedding dress out of that big box and try it on?” Do you know how many times in the last five years I’ve heard that question? My seven-year old daughter has been asking that particular question since she could first talk and discovered the wedding pictures of her dad and me. Do you know how many times I’ve replied, “Honey, I can’t get that dress out, it’s sealed and preserved?” During the past year I have been thinking about that answer, “sealed and preserved.” What in the world have I sealed and preserved and for what occasion? Do you know anybody that actually has worn her mother’s wedding gown? (I know, there are a couple of exceptions, but it’s very rare; you’ll have to agree!). I was in another mother’s home during the past year and in her foyer was a beautiful portrait of her five-year-old daughter wearing her wedding dress. It was the most precious picture I have seen that of a glowing little girl pretending to be like the person she adored the most. I asked the mother, “Aren’t you concerned about preserving your dress?” Her reply was simple. “No, it’s something my daughter had wanted to put on for years and I finally decided that the dress wasn’t that important to keep it from her.”
Last Thursday I went to school and picked up my daughter and headed to a local studio. The wedding dress was with us. I don’t know who had more fun that hour. Taylor Anne had her biggest seven-year-old wish come true and her face glowed in every shot. The photographer enjoyed every minute moving this large dress around a small body and bare feet. And, I couldn’t help but have teary eyes knowing that this dress had been preserved for this very moment. A moment that was priceless, filled with imagination and excitement. A little girl pretending to be like the person she adored the most. I almost missed this moment trying to preserve a dress for an occasion that would never be. Sometimes it takes the wish of a child’s heart to help us grown-ups realize that the precious moments we think are in the future are happening right now. How many other “sealed and preserved” items, thoughts, deeds, and words need to be unveiled now while our precious children are still small and innocent enough to enjoy.
3 comments:
Oh wow!!! Thank you for this Patty!!! I am going to have my mother send mine ASAP!!
I LOVE this! I want to see more pictures from that photo shoot, I bet they're beautiful :)
WOW...this is a beautiful reminder!
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