Writing 101 – Assignment.

Free Writing. Write at least 400 words and once you start typing, don’t stop.

A few short days after announcing her engagement, I had already bought a dress and the perfect shoes. As mother of the bride, I wasn’t going to waste a single moment. At first the happy couple was planning on a fall wedding, after the heat of the summer has released its death grip on us and allowed that first northern to blow in with its promise of lasting relief. But after visiting several wedding venues, a sense of urgency developed. Some venues were astonished that the bride was inquiring about a date for this year and not next. “Oh, you’re talking October, 2014? That might be a problem.” Imagine my surprise when this call came: “Mom! We found a venue and set the date! We’re getting married outside in July!!!” July had plenty of dates available at a great venue, and a discounted price. Not their first choice, but we’ll make it work. We’re not going to let a little Texas heat in the middle of July scare us away.

“That’s wonderful news! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you”. I hopped online and had four different, more summery dresses shipped to my doorstep. The original one I had purchased was going to be way too hot. Luckily one of the new dresses is perfect, and it was on sale. Bingo! The shoes I’d already found are still perfect (maybe even more so with this new dress) and I’m all set.

I didn’t have a big wedding and have no clue about things like caterers, linens, centerpieces, finding the right florist and photographer, rules about tipping, or even ordering a cake. Luckily, I have an amazing daughter who is a well-organized, take charge individual and she is so on top of things, it’s scary. One day she shared a Google Doc spreadsheet with me. This thing has everything wedding related in one place. There are pages for keeping track of the headcount, one for the budget, another with links to all the vendors and items for purchase. There’s even color coding! She has everything under control and I am beaming. This child of mine has turned into an amazing, smart, beautiful woman and she is going to make a stunning bride.

The wedding is right around the corner and all the ducks are in a row. She has done an amazing job organizing every detail. It will no doubt be a memorable occasion for the 150 (+/-) in attendance. I will walk my baby girl down the aisle, ‘give her away’ to a wonderful man, probably cry a little, and then dance the night away – my ‘perfect’ shoes will probably be discarded before the sun has set.