We were richly blessed that day. It has only taken me 35 years to realize it.
The blessing? No cell phone
cameras. No posts on social media. Nothing to leave a lasting
imprint in cyberspace.
It was a typical Sunday morning.
Daughter 1 was learning to dress herself, while Daughter 2[i] was wriggling out of her ruffled socks and Mary Janes as fast as I could put them on again. Finally, both wore the matching yellow dresses – very
short (think Shirley Temple) - from Grandma. Perfect for a spring morning.
Running late as usual. Why was
our parish the Cathedral? And why were the empty seats in the very
front? Up the long center aisle we went, little girls swinging their arms
enthusiastically.
Half way through the
second reading, D1 dropped her little straw purse. As she bent down
to retrieve it, I glanced over and saw . . .
The moon! I SAW THE MOON!!
No ruffled Sunday panties! And no plain underwear! No panties pulled up backwards! No panties anywhere!!!
Prayer was
difficult. It was too late to pray that no one would notice (see
mention of aisle, above).
I believe in miracles, but slowly I realized that panties would not be among them, no matter how
fervently I entreated the Blessed Mother.
The final hymn. We beat a hasty
retreat. Upon arriving home, I grilled D1 with useless questions like
"didn’t you feel a breeze?” and “where were your panties?”
It had just seemed too basic.
Face it, I had taken underwear for granted. No more!
I overcompensated. We had “panty check” every time we left the house. Something like "Miss America, show us your shoes," but with panties. Not kidding!
Only now do I realize how blessed we were. No photos! None of the naked bum. None of the laughing
congregation. And especially none of the hysterical mother in the second pew!!
Oh, and thankful that we moved away not long after that.
[i] From here on
out, my daughters will be known as D1, D2, and D3. Yes, we did name them,
but see Disclaimers. They are definitely some of the guilty mentioned
there.
GREAT memory! Happy Easter!!
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