C's First Dance

I went to see our young friend C this afternoon... she wanted me to see the dress she bought for the 8th grade dance next month. Her first grown-up dressy dress, and she was all excited. She had told me over the phone that she picked out a "Miss Larrie dress." I love that child, I swear.

C told me that her dress was "simple, elegant and fun, black with sparkles." She tried to describe it to me, but she said it was better for me to just see it. When I got to her house this afternoon, she was practically jumping out of her shoes, she was so excited.

The dress is a soft black, with ruffles from the waist down, and each of the ruffled layers has tiny rhinestones in the fabric. The ruffles are a different fabric than the top of the dress--- sort of like a sheer, soft netting, with the soft top fabric under the ruffles. The dress is strapless, which C isn't comfortable with, so her mom is bringing the dress to a seamstress to have thin straps added to it.

All C has to do now is get some pretty shoes to go with the dress. She's thinking sandals, something sparkling and cute. I told her not to get too high a heel, so she can dance well in the shoes. And I suggested she practice walking around the house with them before the night she has to wear them to the dance. She asked if my husband and I could go to her house the night of the dance, so we can see how she looks all dressed up, and maybe take some pictures of her before she leaves. We shall plan to do just that.

I gave C a pair of black pearl earrings when I saw her today. Small ones, just a nice size for her. They were my earrings and I wore them a lot till I got larger ones. C loves jewelry, and she loves the sentimentality of having something that belonged to people she loves. She told me she would wear the earrings with her new dress. Before she saw the earrings, she told me that she was going to look for some sparkling rhinestone earrings, to go with the tiny rhinestones on her dress. I told her to look for some dangling rhinestone earrings before committing herself to the black pearls. The dress is fun, so her earrings should be fun as well.

That little girl is just growing up before our eyes. I can still picture her as she was in the second grade, when I met her. Jeez.... that seems like yesterday. She is a sweet, sweet girl, and she's growing into a sweet and mature young lady. Time sure does fly.