June 14 – “A glitteringly fine bride day”

Our house looks like they filmed an episode of Twilight here.  You know, that movie where the vampires kind of glow and glimmer in the daylight.  We have a distinctive glow and glimmer to our floors.  And our beds.  And the couch.  And the dining table.  And the kitchen counter.  And my desk.  And my desk chair.  And, if that’s even possible, the toilet.  Everywhere you look glitter, glitter, glitter.  I had glitter all over my clothes and my legs when I went to the dentist’s office.  The assistant lady who was getting me prepped for action asked about it.  I managed to keep a straight face and told her the Twilight episode explanation.  Obviously she had seen the show, because she cracked up laughing.  Had to stop whatever she was doing for a minute to get control of herself.  Come to find out she has a ten-year-old daughter.  I guess she has been exposed to the joys of vampire vs. werewolf. 

Chris did her usual Thursday house cleaning before home group, and she did get much of it cleaned out, but there are still remnants pretty much everywhere.  And the actual source of this phenomenon?  No, we didn’t actually have a band of glitterized vampires dash through our house on their way to a showdown with a pack of werewolves.  We had … a visit from Cailyn to show off her brand new princess dress from the Disney store. 

She waited until they arrived here before putting on the dress.  Guess they didn’t have enough room for all the glitter in their back seat.  Don’t get me wrong, the dress is very cute.  Looks like a wedding gown.  It even came with a “bride” (Cailyn’s word for the veil a bride wears) and a bouquet of flowers.  And it was made of … well, I think they have succeeded in creating a brand new form of fabric in which molecules of glitter are somehow bonded together and designed to hold shape until the dress is sold.  Then the unstable molecular structure begins to break down and return to its original state, plain old glitter, thus leaving an unmistakable, shimmering, vampire-in-the-sun trail anywhere the wearer goes.  The process might have been helpful for Hansel and Gretel, but not so much a necessity for a four-year-old princess. 

We did have a game to play, though.  It was a cross between Sleeping Beauty and “Let’s get married.”  At one point I was assigned the role of the mother.  Stop snickering.  This old DadDad will do pretty much anything.  Comes with the territory.  She was Sleeping Beauty and my job was to wake her up when morning came, because that would mean it was the day of her wedding.  OK.  A few problems with that scenario.  It’s dangerous to ask DadDad to wake you up from a pretend sleep.  One of two things could happen.  First, he might fall asleep himself.  It has happened.  Secondly, he might delight you with a rousing rendition of “I’m a Nut” or some other classic tune when it comes time to wake you.   Sadly, I had time for neither.  She pretended to sleep for maybe five seconds and then leapt to her feet and declared that it was “Bride Day.”  I asked who her groom was, but she didn’t know yet.  I imagine her Daddy would be relieved to hear that.  I did ask which of her uncles she was going to invite to the wedding.  Uncle Josh made the list, if he will bring Aunt Christi.  Even Uncle Kel can come, but only if Aunt Christina brings Baby Noa.  Uncle Andy (that’s a fire fighter buddy of Nathan’s) was a maybe.  Hope things work out for you there, Uncle Andy.  And Uncle Jeff (another of Nathan’s buddies) was definitely expected, although “he may not be able to come because he is a fireman in another country and he works on Engine 17.”  Well, then.  Be safe, Uncle Jeff.  I’m off to practice my moves for my dance with bride.

Psalms 95:2 says, “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”

Father, thank you for glitter and “brides” and silly uncles and special aunts and all those things that make a four-year-old little girl’s day special.  Amen.