When you know

Saturday afternoon, Nicole and I set out in search for a dress for the up coming Sweethearts dance.

Our first stop was to a local store that rents dresses with the option to buy. I had rented a few dresses from this store when I was in high school and found it to be a perfect solution for occasions such as these.

When we opened the door to the shop, I was instantly overwhelmed with the racks and racks of brightly colored, beaded gowns before me. I felt like I was backstage at a Ms. America pageant. When I looked over at Nicole, I was expecting to see the same overwhelmed look on her face. But instead of a bewildered expression, she looked thrilled! Her eyes went straight to a short, black and bright pink, strapless gown. I chuckled to myself, thinking, "I don't think so little girl."

I went to the counter and spoke with the owner, telling her what we were looking for and asked if she could point us in the right direction. Happy to help, she took us to the area where Nicole's sizes would be found. She pointed out a few gowns that she thought would work well, and then left us to ourselves to look through the rest.

Two dresses were picked out, and then Nicole went back to the black and pink dress we had seen when we first walked into the store. "Do you think it would fit me?" she asked, looking at the tag on the dress. I suggested that we just try on the two dresses that she had picked out and if they didn't work, then we would see about that one.

Off to the dressing room we went. It was definitely a two person job getting her into and out of these dresses. We took pictures of her wearing them, and she seemed to like one better than the other- but wasn't too thrilled about either one. I told her that we didn't have to decide just then, that we would have the pictures to help us make a decision later after we had done more shopping at other stores.

Nicole hesitated. "What if I try on the black and pink dress- just to see if it fits." she asked with a smile.

Worried that it wouldn't fit (it was two sizes smaller than the dresses she had been trying on) and worried about the strapless-ness of it, but not wanting to be the party pooper, I went out to retrieve the gown. The owner of the shop saw me pick it up and said, "Oh! I was hoping she would try that one on!"

Back to the dressing room, Nicole stepped into the dress. It zipped up with very little effort and fit her perfectly! A smile spread across her face. Her eyes sparkled. She did her little giddy-girl squeal and jump. "I love it mommy! It's perfect! This is the one I want!" she quickly stated.

She walked out into the shop and stood in front of the large wrap-around mirrors. The girls and ladies in the shop gasped and complimented her on how beautiful she looked.

My mind kept saying, "This is too easy. We have only looked at one store. We should look around some more." I have always been one who thinks there always could be something better- if I just take the time to look around. Never settle for the first (fill-in-the-blank) that comes my way. You have to look hard and long to be sure.

But does it really have to be that way? Can you ever see something right off the bat, and know it's the right one? Do you really have to kill yourself searching for the perfect something when it could be right before your eyes?

It was the first dress Nicole saw when we walked in. I know she was comparing the other two dresses to it. And when she tried it on, she just knew. So who was I to cast doubt on her ability to KNOW?

We talked about some options of how to make it modest, which would be nothing more than a scoop necked black shirt. It was decided! We filled out the paper work, put half down for it to be held, and we were out the door. Done.

It really was too easy. It was a good lesson for me to learn. Some things really can be that easy if you let them be.