Today’s tale is a personal one. A glimpse into the life of That girl in the red coat. The past and present collided this weekend, and it was beautiful. Today’s tale is also for all the Mother’s out there embarking on graduation and prom season – remember to let it be about your daughter.

My beautiful girl is about to graduate high school, so this past weekend, my girl, her bestie, her beloved Amma and I all ventured out to find the perfect dress. There is a divine little shop in Waterloo Ontario that I wanted to check first. I have to admit, it is a shop that I hold dear for it was the shop that made my wedding gown and dressed my wedding party, my mother and my mother in law, or Amma as you now know. I was their first bride, 21 years ago. The shop is Kindred Spirit.

As we opened the door of the shop, memories flooded back of the first time I crossed the threshold. As we all made our way in all I heard was “Sara!”. After 21 years, they remembered me. It was like running into long lost friends and it was fabulous. I have cherished my moments at the shop for the girls made me feel like I was the only woman in their shop. I was so happy to see the same owners, Debbie and Tina, for I knew they would do the same for my daughter. I introduced my daughter and let them know we were looking for her prom dress. Their service was as impeccable as it was 21 years ago. They made sure it was all about my daughter, as it should be, for it is her prom and her dress. The ladies were kind, conscientious and present. As I watched the ladies help zip up my daughter’s dress and clasp the hooks, all of a sudden, my daughter was a woman. The little cherub who would sing a song to a dandelion had become a beautiful, poised young woman. It is prom season, so the shop was filled with Mothers and daughters, their friends and their loved ones. I could not have asked for a better day for my girl. Every time she would come out with a dress she would hear the women telling her how beautiful she looked, how fabulous her figure was, how beautiful she was. Her Amma had women complimenting her on her granddaughter’s beauty and poise – for any grandmother, especially a European grandmother -this is a big deal. My girl had her bestie there for support and honest opinions – for we all know that only the bestie’s word is true – even if it is the exact same thing the Mother says.

We found “the dress”. My girl is a true beauty and in this dress, in a word, stunning. Simply stunning. As she looked at herself in the mirror, I was watching her and was seeing her future, filled with accolades and awards. I knew that this was the first of many evening gowns she would own, and told her so. Debbie heard me say this, so I took it upon myself to have a proud Momma moment and explained my daughter’s latest achievement, that four days before her 18th. birthday, my girl became a published author. Yep! Published at 17! Her short story is one of ten short stories available for Kindle or in paperback. Being me – here is the link;

As we walked up to the counter, dress in hand, I realized how blessed I was to watch memories being made. My daughter’s eyes twinkling when we found “the dress”, my mother in law (Amma) watching strangers compliment my daughter and in turn her, my girl’s bestie being kind and courteous to my girl’s Amma, seeing the tears of pride in Amma’s eyes and the tears of happiness in my daughter’s as they hugged each other after the surprise gift that Amma would buy her dress.

As my grandmother told me, a woman I miss dearly everyday, “In this life, the days are long and the years are short.”.  In the blink of an eye I went from the bride to be to the Mother of an 18 year old graduate. I went from clasping my daughter’s onesie to clasping her evening gown. I was just watching her take her first steps and now I am watching her take her first steps towards her destiny.  Take the time to be present in every moment. Let the moments of others be about them, you will have your own moments to make about yourself, of that I am certain. Every occasion does not need to be a spectacular event – some of the best memories have been made over coffee or standing at the counter of a dress shop.

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”.