The Longest Day

         So much to do.  I don't know how I'll ever get done. June came too fast and I'm not at all ready.  Here it's already the 21st. 

         "Eleven more days," Kristi chirped waltzing with her father's suit jacket.  Her blue eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed with excitement as her long blond hair swirled around her nightgown collar.  I was stunned by her loveliness, then reality hit:  my little girl is all grown up and getting married.

         "Are you sure this is what you want?" I moaned, holding a mass of beaded and embroidered fabric.  "You're breathtaking in your nightgown; who needs a wedding dress?"  I dropped into the chair and threaded my needle.

         "Oh, Mom," she gasped, "it's absolutely gorgeous.  You're a spectacular seamstress and this dress is more than I ever dreamed."

         "But it's not perfect yet," I sighed, needle in hand.  "If I work non-stop without eating or sleeping, I might just get it done as you walk down the aisle."

         "You're the best," Kristi cried, reaching for a hug.

         "Watch the needle," I cautioned.  Overwhelmed...this must be what it feels like to be overwhelmed.

         Kristi ran to change for work and I continued stitching one tiny bead after another until my fingers went numb.  "Know what today is?" she asked, reappearing with toast and tea.

         "No," I murmured.  I'd turned my attention to the hem of the last bridesmaid's dress as a break from the beads.

         "The summer solstice:  the longest day of the year."

         "Hmmm...," I managed through a mouthful of pins.

         Kristi's eyes were soft with love, "You've done so much work, Mom.  I'm so lucky.  Keith and I should give you and Dad our honeymoon tickets; you're the one that needs the vacation."  Her blue eyes flooded with tears.

         "Don't you dare cry," I warned.  "If you start so will I, then I'll never finish."

         Kristi sniffed.  "Oops!  Gotta go or I'll be late."  She blew a kiss and was off, leaving me alone with my thoughts until Doug woke up.  It was summer break before his senior year so I was letting him sleep in.

         The longest day of the year I thought.  Perhaps there is hope.

         I returned to the beadwork, mindlessly stringing and stitching as my thoughts raced through a mental list of tasks:  press everything; organize reception decorations; check on flowers; frame pictures for Memorial table; buy votive candles...how did you let time slip away like this? my thoughts scolded...finish flowers on veil; confirm photographer...what am I going to wear? I panicked...check on cake; make hotel reservations; fill prescriptions; a lighter...we'll need a lighter for the candles...

           "OUCH!" I cried, putting the tip of my pricked finger between my lips.  I hadn't realized how long I'd been sewing; several hours slipped past and the beadwork was nearly complete.  A few final steps remained:  set in the sleeves; sew on all the buttons.  It sounded simple enough, but fifty buttons march down the back of the dress on top of the zipper placket, ten more buttons close each long cuff, and one more inside the skirt bustles the slip once the train is removed.

         "Hey Mom!" I jumped, startled by the sleepy voice.  "Know what today is?"

         "Longest day of the year?" I quipped, laughing at Doug's astonishment.

         "Well, yeah, it's the summer solstice, the beginning of summer," he yawned, "but I was thinking today's when Mark and Justin come.  When do we go to the airport?"

         "Oh my goodness!  I forgot all about them."  Calendar in hand, I sunk into a kitchen chair, Ř:07 p.m.," I panted, relieved.  "You scared me."

         "Sorry, Mom," Doug said, planting a kiss on my cheek.  He straightened up, yawned, and stretched his high school basketball star frame to its full 6'5" height.  "Wanna do lunch?"

         "Sweetheart, I'd love to say yes, but your sister's dress needs sixty buttons and if today is the longest day of the year, I'll need every second of it to get this wedding done."

         "Umm," he grunted, thoughtfully moving his pursed lips from one side to the other.  "Can I help?"

         My eyes brightened as I thought of all the things Doug could do but I replied, "Grab pen and paper and write down everything I say." 

         He laughed, "Everything?"

         An hour and a half later, the sleeves were set, the buttons were sewn, the list complete, and Doug was pulling out of the garage with me in the passenger seat.  Longest day of the year, huh? I thought glancing at the clock.  I'm going to make every minute count.  This will be the last day of wedding preparations.

         Doug and I divided the list and within fifteen minutes we had picked our way through the crowded aisles and met at the registers.  "Here's mine," he said.  "You pay; I'll get the car."

         Next stop:  lunch.  As Doug drove, I made phone calls:  bakery, florist, photographer, dry-cleaner, nail salon, pharmacy, hotel, car rental, lunch reservation.  "All systems: go," I laughed as Doug parked.

         "What's next?" he asked, dipping a chip.

         I consulted the list.  "You get a hair cut, I look for shoes, and we get Dad's prescriptions on the way to the airport."

         Through the flurry of afternoon activities I was surprisingly calm.  Once home, the boys vacuumed, swept, mopped, and dusted while I prepared dinner. 

         After a few games and a movie, we said goodnight.  I lay in bed but the list kept playing in my mind.  Something was yet undone.  I tiptoed to the sewing room and clicked on the light.  Soon everything was perfect, pressed and hung, the girls' shoes and jewelry in boxes below each dress. 

         I lovingly patted the "head" of my machine.  "We did it, old friend," I sighed.  The room was slowly painted in soft pink hues.  The longest day was over and the sun rose on a crystal clear morning; the first full day of summer.  My list was complete.

         Just wake me in time for the wedding.


1000 words