A Woman's Work – Brooke Basically Blogging

When mommy was at my house one day watching the kids. She left something behind. I guess she forgot to tell me. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the coat closet and found my wedding gown staring back at me.

Now I hadn’t seen my gown in about nine years. Mommy brought it back to Delaware. She took care of getting it cleaned and keeping it for me. I remember the day I bought my dress in Dover, Delaware in 1998.

I will be honest. There were many emotions that ran through me head seeing that dress. First, I was happy because the dress was so little. I was thinking wow, I actually wore that. Secondly, I loved the tiara and the veil. Lastly, I felt sad that something that should bring me such joy was a reminder of my divorce.

When I called mommy and told her thanks for dropping of the dress. She said she needed the space in the closet. I had to laugh. Well, what am I supposed to do with the dress now? I actually forgot that it existed.

Pinterest! I remember seeing an idea where you should take a picture of your daughter in your wedding gown. I thought how cool. This would be perfect for Sydney. She would love to try the dress on and dance around the house.

It was a rainy, Netflix day. I knew “the dress” was still in the house. Today would be the day. It was photo shoot time. I asked Sydney if she wanted to play princess bride dress up. Her eyes sparkled and she was ready.

When I unzipped the bag and took out the dress. She said, “I’m getting married.” She reminded me of Oprah in The Color Purple. We laughed as she put the dress on. She was so excited. The tiara was the icing on the cake. She made Harrison come down and he was giving her away. As they marched around the house. Sydney was singing The Wedding March. I was frozen in time. Then, I grabbed the camera and Harrison took off running.

I took a few pictures of Sydney and thought what a beautiful young lady she is becoming. And then I thought I am a terrible mother for making her wear a tainted wedding gown.

In the past I thought I would have mommy make Sydney’s First Communion gown from my dress. Or maybe even Harrison’s first born can have a christening gown made from the dress. All of these ideas sounded great when I was married but now I wasn’t quite sure.

Well, I’m happy that I did get my pictures of Sydney in the gown. Now I can give her a picture of her wearing the dress when she gets married.

But what do I do with this wedding dress now? Should I donate it? Do I burn it? Or do I keep it in the coat closet? Am I overthinking this? If I am please tell me. I would love to hear from women about their thoughts of what to do with your wedding dress after divorce?