A Mother's Helpful Guidance

I was recently able to get away on a short vacation, which was perfect, but getting there was a comedy of errors. It all started the night before my flight, when I was going to finish up a few last-minute errands, then get to bed nice and early. My mom had even agreed to spend the night at my house, ensuring she wouldn't be late to take me to the airport. I had all my ducks in a row.

Errand #1: Order the Shabby Apple Alana dress I'd been eyeing. By ordering it before my trip, I could take advantage of a MyPoints promotion for free United Airlines miles. I'd been thinking about which dress to buy all week, and was finally certain of my decision. My mom was sitting next to me and she glanced over at my computer as I was on the final checkout screen.

It's super-cute and flattering, right?

"That's the dress you're buying?" my mom asked, making a face. "Ugh!"

I'd thought the dress was very me. I envisioned myself wearing it everywhere, twirling the billowy fabric in an elegant, yet carefree way. I showed her more photos and the positive reviews.

My mom added "That's the sort of dress you find at Goodwill for five dollars. And even then, it's more than anyone would be willing to pay for it." Somehow, she must have sensed this wasn't what I'd wanted to hear. "But it's up to you! Get it if you want." I removed the dress from my cart, thought about it some more, and decided once-and-for-all to go through with my purchase.

"You're the one who has to wear it."

My mom didn't care for the Shabby Apple Saffron dress either, which was my second choice and was basically the exact same dress in yellow. To be fair, I agreed that the dress might make me look like a bee and/or cause vertigo.

I spent the rest of the evening removing, re-adding, and again removing the same dress from my Shabby Apple cart, before finally going to bed later than usual and with no errands accomplished.

Weeks and much indecisiveness later, I ordered the Shabby Apple Aspen dress.
My mom hasn't seen it.

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Kitty Deschanel

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