As far back as I can remember, Lori enjoyed the holidays. More specifically, she liked to dress for the part. For Valentines Day, she would always wear red. For St. Patricks Day, she wore green. If it was a St. Patricks Day Party, she would likely wear a green hat along with clover ear rings. For the 4th of July picnic, she donned the red, white and blue. And so on and so on. No matter what the event, Lori was prepared with the outfit to match.
We once attended a fundraiser that was Great Gatsby Themed. She dressed full on flapper with the dress and hat that captured the roaring ’20’s. She also was talented enough to make costumes for Halloween, including our vintage Heat and Freeze Miser Costumes. No event was too great for Lori and her outfits or sewing machine.
Christmas was equally themed. There seemed to be an endless supply of light up necklaces, Santa hats, red and green sweaters, dangling elf ear rings, and anything else needed to keep the festive atmosphere of the season.
Lilly isn’t quite on the same level, but it does come out every now and then. Perhaps her love for shopping is the driving force. Lilly loves to sport a new outfit for a new occasion. Similar to her Mother, Lilly is often running around at the last minute. The day before a holiday, Lilly often would tell me she needs a new outfit. When she was younger, we would head out to Target and pick up a themed shirt or dress. Now that she is driving, she can do that on her own. And usually it still ends up being the last minute.
One of the things I say to Lilly often before she heads out to shop, is to make sure she tries everything on. I can’t tell you how many times Lori would come home with 3 of the same or similar outfits to try on at home and then when she decided which one fit best, the rest would need to be returned. This always drove me crazy. Why would you leave a store knowing that you will need to go back to return something? And it still drives me crazy when Lilly comes home with an outfit and the first thing I’ll ask is “did you try it on at the store”? I shouldn’t be surprised anymore at how many times that answer is “no”.
December 23, 2022
“Lilly, what are you doing today”?
“I’m going shopping to get something to wear for Christmas” she says to me.
“Ok. I’m working late. Make sure you try everything on.”
“Ok. I will.”
When I returned home from work late that night, Lilly was eager to show me the outfit… outfits, she bought for the holidays. She brings down her bags and pulls each one out to show me. They are very nice and perfect for the upcoming holiday. So of course I ask, “Did you try them on”?
After a lengthy explanation as to why she did not try them on, she was sent upstairs to try them on. When she came back down to show me, they did NOT fit. Neither one of them. She fidgeted around with the top trying to justify to me that they fit well enough. But they didn’t. And although I hated to have to say it, I just couldn’t let her wear them. It was after 11pm. Lilly was upset. Apologizing for not having tried them on at the store. I told her we would figure something out tomorrow morning (Christmas Eve). Frustrated and almost crying, Lilly took her bags up to her room.
While finishing wrapping some gifts, I randomly thought of Lori and her outfits. I had a vague vision of a couple of sweaters that Lori had that were Christmas themed. I wondered if I had them somewhere. In the closet there are a handful of larger bins that have Lori’s clothes. Perhaps we could find something in there. I called to Lilly and explained to her that we might be able to find something in the closet if she was interested. She was.
Inside the closet, I pulled the top bin down, opened it up, and sitting right on top was a sweater. Lilly was smiling from ear to ear. We pulled it out and found another sweater. And then another. We closed up the bin and Lilly ran off to her room. I went back downstairs.
A short time later, Lilly came back down wearing a sweater. And it fit! The fashion show continued. All of them looked great. And any of them would be perfect for the holidays. Lilly’s mood and spirit had done a complete turn. Now she needed to pick one of them.
It was after midnight on December 23rd, already the morning of the 24th. Three sweaters that all looked great. A Christmas Gift from her Mother that we were not planning on. Of the three sweaters, Lilly decided on the one that best fit her personality for the holidays. It was blue with reindeer and bells. She proudly tried it on again and was beaming with excitement. It was perfect.
Once again, Lori has found a way to help out her daughter when needed. It made for a very special day, one that fulfilled her need to be wearing something special for Christmas. Lilly is thrilled to have access to some of these treasures, but most importantly, Lilly has a brand new Christmas Sweater. And it looks just like one her Mom would wear.
