Julia’s wedding is two weeks away. I’m not sure how we got here so quickly, but here we are!

This summer, we went down to Mom and Dad’s house. Julia had asked if she could try on my wedding dress – if I still had it. I knew we had sealed it, and I thought it was in Mom and Dad’s attic, but I wasn’t sure. Last year, a tornado sent a tree through Mom and Dad’s roof, leaving a gaping hole in their living room. The tornado destroyed much of the attic, and I didn’t want to hope the dress remained sealed or that we could even find it.

Nate, John Paul, and Julia spent some time digging through the attic. They found nothing. Dad said he remembered a box being inside a trunk, so he and Nate went on a hunt for this trunk. Brian and I took over digging in the attic, and suddenly Nate emerged from down the hall with a box – a sealed wedding dress box! I clasped my hands over my mouth, half crying and have laughing! We slowly opened the outer box – Nate had found my mom’s dress. I was a little disappointed, but we quickly shifted into talking with her about her hopes for the dress. My mama is tiny – 5’1″, so I never could even try on this dress. I was so happy to see her examining the dress and remembering the day.

I started cooking dinner, and the kids started putting everything away. Mary and Sebastian were playing with toys from my childhood, taking turns asking me to come and see.

John Paul walked through the French doors of the kitchen with a big smile on his face. He had found another sealed wedding dress box. He held it up. “Could this be it?” He asked with a huge smile.

I turned the burners off, and Julia, my mom, and I rushed to the guest room with the box. The box held my dress! I had forgotten how beautiful it was. As I gently removed it from the box, the little pearls, satin, and beads all shone. The next few moments were a blur. Julia stepped into the dress. I zipped it up effortlessly. It was perfect. We yelled for John Paul to hide and walked Julia out to see Brian, Nate, and my parents. Nate’s tears as he saw Julia in the dress were confirmation that it really was a moment out of a fairytale. I reassured her she didn’t have to choose the dress – that just her trying it on was a moment I would never forget.

She spun around, and my dad smiled. I looked over at Brian, and time stood still. I wore that dress 26 years ago, before Julia ever existed, and there she was – a vision of grace and beauty twirling in my dress. How could someone so beautiful suddenly appear on this earth? Why was I chosen to be her mama? Goodness gracious, I am blessed.

She called me a few weeks later. To let me know she had decided – this would be her dress.