Sentimental? ? ?

It comes as no surprise to most people when I admit that I am very sentimental. I married Ray Parker on my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, and I married Rich Suhey the weekend my mother was celebrating her 75th birthday. I also keep things for a long time. Last year, I wore the shoes I had worn to my daughter's wedding in 1995, and when they got wet, they fell apart. But that's another story.

This has been hanging in my closet for five-plus decades.  

What does one do with a wedding dress?

That was my dilemma for many years.  

When I was about to marry in 1967, my mother, my sister, Cindy, and I went shopping. Our first stop was a bridal shop in San Marco. I found what I thought was the perfect dress. It was less than $100 (Remember, this was 58 years ago). I was ready to purchase.  

However, we heard that buying the first dress was not a good idea, so we went across the river into Jacksonville. We went to Cohen's and to Furchgott's. I tried on a few, but I was still convinced that the first one was "the one." 

So, back to San Marco we went.

The salesperson was finalizing the sale of "my" dress for another bride.

I was heartsick.

However, my resourceful mother and I drew what we remembered the dress looked like and went to see her sister, Carolyn, who "loved to sew and was quite good at it. ".Together, they found patterns she could use and started making my dress. At some point, my best friend Bonnie joined the project. She is also an excellent seamstress.

We paid about $30 for the material and gave Aunt Carolyn this epergne as a thank you.  For many years, it held flower arrangements for family weddings and celebrations.  Aunt Carolyn gave it back to me several years ago.                                                                                                                      Sadly, the marriage ended after 15 years, and the dress has been hanging in my closet. I may have felt it was tainted. I knew my daughters wanted their own dresses,

I just didn't know what to do with it.  So I kept it.

And then I had a thought: Could the lace be removed and some sort of memento made for my grandchildren? Although they were born long after I was divorced from their grandpa, they have always known that I believe the children born to Ray Parker and me are an incredible blessing. They have had a good life since we were divorced, and each of them—and subsequently my seven grandchildren—has some of his good genes.

And so I found a seamstress.

If you count these, you might say - but Paula has seven grandchildren.

Third grandchild, Grace, will be the first of my grandchildren to marry when she is the bride in early summer.  She has her handkerchief.

I'm excited about her wedding. I am planning to wear the dress I wore to her parents' wedding more than 25 years ago.

Did I mention I am sentimental???

 May you have enough sunshine in your life. . . .  to make you appreciate the shadows