My Favorite Bride

Bella99

Location: Texas,

Bio: Wife to one, mother to one, friend to many. I am the Boss's Factotum, household CEO, perennial soft touch and occasional virago

MY RECENT POSTS

Epic Tantrum
January 31, 2009 09:00PM
My Favorite Bride
January 16, 2009 05:18PM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

“I just did the math and premiums and our regular prescriptions for my daughter an…”
August 11, 2009 07:16AM
“So sorry you had to go through this. Rated.”
July 06, 2009 02:38PM
“As the owner of a pair of "pillows of loveliness" (thanks Cymraeg!), I…”
June 30, 2009 04:51PM
“Healthcare is what keeps my husband from becoming self-employed. Rated.”
June 23, 2009 02:46PM
“Rated. I used to be able to find clothing that flattered my curviness. Now, unl…”
June 16, 2009 03:20PM

Bella99's Links

Salon.com

« Back to Posts

JANUARY 16, 2009 5:23PM

Rate: 9 Flag

In response to the call for compliments, I'll share this story (about a compliment):

I used to own a small bridal shop, with a very talented seamstress, and was priviledged to dress some of the most beautiful young ladies in Houston before a lamentable lack of profits forced me to close it's doors.

One day a young lady called for a fitting and needed not a dress but a miracle. She was quite wide and B. (the very talented seamstress) literally had to turn her long sleeve gown (bought elsewhere) into a short sleeve gown in order to enlarge the bodice of her gown.

This sweet bride was never going to stop traffic, but when she came for her second fitting she said, "I am so pleased with your seamstress's work. She has made this dress Beautiful Like Me."

That lovely girl taught me the truth about loving yourself in 10 seconds.

My daughter will never hear me complain about my weight (bring on the Fat Ass Chocolate Cake), my crow's feet, or my incredibly scaly feet (ok, maybe the feet), because if she continuously sees me hate myself, how will she learn to love herself?

Author tags:

open call, bride, wedding, cake, daughter, beauty, confidence, love, dress, compliment

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!

Comments

Post a comment

I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR POST!!! THANK YOU!

Hildy Hildy

January 16, 2009 08:35 PM

Hildy, thank you for your kind words. It was truly a "scales fell from my eyes" type moment after growing up in a household where appearance was over-valued.

Bella99

January 16, 2009 08:54 PM

Beautiful story. Wow, that's a graceful encounter.

TMaita

January 16, 2009 08:54 PM

Toni - what an elegant way to put it. This girl was truly full of grace.

Bella99

January 16, 2009 08:56 PM

V. cool. Thumbed!

The Buzz

January 19, 2009 09:40 PM

Inappropriate body image is a huge problem in this country for women, especially female teenagers. Young women are bombarded by images of models and celebrities who are not representative of how the vast majority of women really look. The desire to look like a model can lead to eating disorders, unnecessary plastic surgery and other nasty problems. In addition, there are some men who are plagued by poor body image. This can lead to the use of steroids and obsessive levels of training and working out.

ClosureIsaMyth

January 20, 2009 01:22 AM

Thanks Buzz.

Closure, when I look at how toxic popular culture is today, I wonder how any child can reach adulthood with any sanity.

Bella99

January 20, 2009 02:35 PM

"because if she continuously sees me hate myself, how will she learn to love herself?"

amen, sister!!

carolineinTO

January 21, 2009 09:07 PM

Thanks, CarolineinTO!

Bella99

January 22, 2009 10:22 AM

Bella, what incredible wisdom.
Beautiful post.
I try hard to keep my physical insecurities from my stepdaughter, who fortunately is more perfect than I ever was at her age (15) ...but still, self-loathing is contagious. There's a saying, "If you want self esteem, then do esteemable things." I try to remember that in my moments of middle-aged angst and focus on what is really beautiful in my life.