vicarious wedding

Erin asked for a class ring this year, which kind of surprised me.  She said she’d always wanted one, but just didn’t want to ask us to buy her one.  It was not an unreasonable request; maybe she is getting sentimental about leaving high school after all these years of hard work.  Her ring is on order and should be arriving any day.

 

I asked Emily if she also wanted a class ring.  It was sort of a “HELL NO” response from her.  She said, “I don’t wear rings.  I only want two rings in my life.”  She was implying, of course, an engagement and wedding ring.  That was a bit of a shock because she has always maintained that she had no intentions of marrying…unless it was somebody like Justin Bieber, who is now firmly erased from her list of potential candidates.  I said, “Oh, so now you’ve changed your mind?  Now you want a husband at some point in your life?”  She said, “Well, no.  What I really want is a wedding.  The groom is just something that comes with it.”  She is so funny!  

  

I like that my girls are dreaming of a wedding day, some day.  Not now!!  Well, Sarah is certainly welcome to take that next step whenever it may come.  She is well-settled into a career and is financially capable of supporting herself and any children that may come along.  Erin and Emily are much too young to be seriously considering anyone to marry, but sadly, some of their classmates are getting engaged.  When kids are 18, there’s not much a parent can do about it. 

As for me, I don’t recall dreaming about a wedding day or husband as a girl or teenager.  Having a family was not on my radar, so weddings were something other people did...not me.  I wanted to be like Jane Goodall, wander the jungle and research apes, or catalog exotic plant species, or get my hands dirty in a lab like a mad scientist. 

Anyway, these days I find myself watching shows on TV such as “I Found the Gown” and “Say Yes to the Dress” where women are searching for their perfect wedding dress.  When I went shopping for wedding dresses (both times), it was no more than just another chore.  I just don’t care about clothes or trying to look like a beautiful princess.  When and if my girls do get married, I hope to be with them when they try on and select their wedding dresses.  Maybe it will be something magical (like on TV).