February 11, 2024, a Sunday shift at Darlafoxx and a few hours I will not forget.

I wanted to go super cute on Super Bowl Sunday, while shaking off the effects of the (many) cocktails I had at the chorus event the night prior. Having bartenders as friends is both a great thing and a problem.

I reported again at 11:00AM and kept my eye on the door. I let a mother and her daughter come in without an appointment, which I can do based on how many are in the store. I chatted up Angela and her daughter, getting details so we know what she is looking for. She asked my name and lit up when I said it was Kandi. Angela’s sister passed away last year and yes, her name was Kandy (different spelling). There was an immediate connection between us. I walked the up the stairs and got them set up while we looked at a few dresses.

Darla is having her annual runway event in two weeks, for ages 5 to 19. I had been helping with some of the girls as they came to the store to get fitted. They are also interviewed as part of the competition. This day, I was one of the interviewers. We interviewed three young ladies, one was seven, one twelve and one nineteen. I knew I knew the nineteen year old and when I asked her, she, I and her Mom had a wonderful time at Ohio Fashion Week in 2022.

Then I headed back to the shop and that was when I literally turned into the girl that I am.

As we walked back to the shop, we started chatting with three ladies and it ended up they were coming to see us. So I walked them back, let them in and got them set up. I then headed upstairs to check on Angela and her daughter. Her daughter was in “the” dress and she could not have been more beautiful. I immediately started crying.

As an aside, there is something about the “right dress” that starts the waterworks for me. I have no explanation, the right dress on a woman causes an emotional reaction in me. Whether it is a dress for a special event or getting myself dressed in a perfect outfit. The dress I was wearing had that same effect on me that morning. This was a last minute outfit decision and was perfection for me and my body (fat as I am). Hopefully I pulled it off.

Angela was crying. I was crying. I held her, we hugged, I sobbed, she sobbed. She and I talked on a level only woman do. First the interviews. Now this.

I had decided to call it a day (I am not really getting paid much and it was Super Bowl Sunday, even though I barely watched the game while writing this and other posts).

The ladies I had met were there for a bridal gown. One of the ladies was getting married in Las Vegas and wanted something simple and classic. She was in a dress that again, I immediately started crying once I saw her in it. She looked fabulous! I have no idea how, but I spoke like I actually knew what I was talking about. I talked about how the gown was both classic, had a vintage vibe and looked modern. We talked about how she would be wearing her hair, talked about accessories and then Darla but the veil on her. It took things to a different level. Completely changed the dress for me, going from a 10 to a 100! She looked so beautiful! Yep, more tears.

While she went to change out of the gown, I chatted with her friend Jen. Jen and I really connected and she asked me if she could give me a hug. What do you think I said?

As we hugged, I was again weeping. I told her I am such a girl! We held hands while we talked and I laughed and asked her about what she would say about me after they left. She said she had just met the sweetest human being. Wow….sorry if you are getting sick of me saying this, but I am blessed beyond words. I get to do so many of these uber-feminine things. I get to be there in what are lifetime memories. I get to be involved. I get to go to work as myself and not only be accepted, but to be valued for who and what I am. My, oh my….

Pinch me, I may have to work my tail off to help put food on the table, but I get to have so many amazing experiences like this, Jocelyn’s visits, our Very Sherry Christmas, working for Toni helping run her fashion shows, The Cleveland Museum of Art and so much more.

See that hole under my nose? I open it, ask and look what happens.

Postscript

Jen posted this on Dar’s site the next day. She and her posse drove up from Youngstown, about an hour plus drive. There are many options for them that were closer, but they picked us and we delivered! And I cried like such a girl……