Where does time go? It seems that every few days I am flipping the calendar page over to a new month and writing a new year on my check blanks. The old saying that life happens as we plan our lives is really true. Our time on earth is so very short yet we spend way too much of our time planning rather than doing.

It seems to me that it was only yesterday that I was planning my wedding. I remember trying on dresses and going with my mom to find a mother of the bride dress. I remember the fun I had with my girlfriends as they tried on their bride maids dresses. Now in what seems to be a blink of the eye I am watching my daughter try on bridal gowns and I am looking for the perfect mother of the bride dress. I cannot believe that my baby girl is getting married. As I watch her model the different bridal gowns I have flash backs of her playing dress up and dressing her Barbie dolls in bridal clothes. Where did the time go?

My daughter and I have very similar tastes so our shopping trips are usually quite fun. As we were driving to the shopping center we were discussing what type of mother of the bride dress I should wear. I have been at many weddings in my life and it seems that many times the mother of the bride dress is not appropriate. Some mothers pick dresses that look like brides maid dresses, others choose a color that clashes with the wedding party dresses, which makes a big difference in group pictures. I also feel it is important to coordinate with the mother of the groom so that the dresses compliment each other. The last wedding I went to the mother of the bride dress was very casual. She wore a linen knee length fitted dress with a short jacket. The mother of the groom had a floor length gown. They did not seem to belong at the same event.

As we were shopping I mentioned to my daughter that we should have included the mother of the groom in our shopping trip. It would have been a good time for us to get to know her better and to also coordinate our dresses. We called her and asked if she would want to meet us in the afternoon. She thought this sounded fun so my daughter and I shopped for other wedding items in the morning and we picked out the mother of the bride dress and the mother of the groom dress in the afternoon. It was a fun outing.