Time to Plan a Wedding

Is this the little girl I carried, is this the little boy at play?  I don't remember growing older, when did they?  Those are the opening lines to the song "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof"...and that is my reality today.

My little girl got engaged last April.  It was exciting, but still a bit nebulous because no date was set.  Until today.  It's no longer "my daughter's engaged"... it's "my daughter's getting married, October 4th, 2013."  Now it's really real.  Now the planning begins in earnest.  But first, let me reminisce...

She's always been early.  It started when she arrived two weeks before her due date, and 26 years later, she's always the first to arrive at work, losing patience with the ones she has to wait on to gain access.

She's always been a bit of a daredevil.  I remember her in a baby swing, throwing her little feet out to force herself higher - the legs of the swing would sometimes lift off the ground.  I thought then, this kid is going to love amusement park rides...and in fact, the higher and faster the roller coaster, the better she likes 'em. She's a little heavy-footed on the gas pedal too!

She's always - well almost always - been a Fashionista.  It started with her first tap costume - a 'bo peep' like number that she pranced around in long after the recital...and now she's a visual merchandiser for a well-known, world-wide clothing chain.  Of course, there was a year or two in there when goth clothing was her thing.  Not the makeup, hair or piercings, but oh how I remember those horrible baggy pants with tons of zippers.  It's hard to believe that same child who once proclaimed "I hate dresses - I'm going to wear a suit at my wedding!" now wants to say "yes to the dress" - and desires one of the laciest 'vintage' wedding gowns I've ever seen.

And she's always been creative.  When she was about 4, I took her for her regular check up.  The doctor asked her to draw a picture of herself.  When she was done, he was amazed.  "Incredible detail for a child her age" he marveled.  "She's drawn buttons on the clothes, laces on the shoes, and barrettes in her hair."  When she was about 7 and her brother was 3, she wanted him to play school.  He whined "mom, I don't WANT to learn my letters and numbers again!"  Jackie thought a moment and  played on her brother's interest of ocean creatures.  "I know...we'll play 'sea school' she announced..."I'll be Mrs. Octopus, and you can be a whale!"  Now that's creative - my son bought into it 'hook, line and sinker'.  Ultimately, she graduated from college with a degree in Visual Arts with a concentration in photography.  Some of her work can be seen on her photography Facebook page...J.C. Photography

I'm proud of my daughter and the woman she's become.  She's hard-working, thoughtful, giving and loving.  She's chosen a man who loves and cares for her and takes care of her...and occasionally indulges her penchant for stuffed animals since their apartment complex frowns on having REAL polar bears and tigers live on the premises.  And now, she's getting married.  October 4, 2013.  We have a date.  Let the official planning begin!