Don't Kill My Vibe

Well, Hello. Let me introduce you to my "Good Day Dress". I wore this dress on Sunday, and since I only wore it for 2 hours, I also wore it again on Monday. (I'm leaving out the part where I admit that I have worn this thing like 5 or 6 other times and just hung it up without washing it.) Two very special things happened to me on the two seperate days that I wore this dress, so now... it shall forever be know throughout the land as "Melissa's Good Day Dress".

Number 1: We went to church on Sunday, and I was surprised to see my friends, Heather, Krista, and Leah there. Seeing friends at church may not seem like a big deal.. but trust me... seeing a friend (1 in particular) who (just a few weeks before) rolled her eyes so far back in her head that they actually almost got stuck there when I mentioned church... well, it was pretty amazing. I sat next to her while she took it all in. The music, the message of generosity and love, and the positivity. I think she feared (just like I used to) that is was going to be all fire and brimstone. Guilt, accusations, exclusion, hate, hell fire, and hypocrisy. I was so happy that she was there. It was an emotional message, and a poignant reminder to do for others. Having my Manfriend to my left, and my girlfriends (3 deep) to my right made it even more nourishing than normal. I was really overcome with emotion. It was a good day.

Number 2: Monday. I met up for dinner with my friend, Mary. Mary lives the kind of life that most of us can only dream of. She has owned and ran a (very successful) company, held a very high profile role in the Democratic National Convention, is the co-creator of the North Carolina Governor's Conference for Women, is an all around activist, intellect, AND just returned from Costa Rica where she spent 6 months doing/teaching yoga and writing her book. Yes... writing her book. And doing yoga. In Costa Rica. By herself. True Story. I have had a SERIOUS crush on Mary for years. I used to hear her speak at certain events and think to myself: "Self... you want to be like her... you want to care, do, be, attract, act, and live out loud. You want to be an incredible woman. Live an amazing life, and give a shit about things that matter." We met a few times working on different community things, shared a couple of meals, laughed and enjoyed each others company, but we weren't yet at the point where we were hanging out just one on one. SO... you can imagine my delight when I received a text from her, just weeks after returning to Charlotte setting up a dinner date.WHAT-WHAAAAAAAT?! In my mind I was like "UHHH.... HELL YES. I LOVE YOU. I WANT TO BE YOU. TEACH ME. I AM NOT WORTHY" instead, I wrote back "YES, definitely. Where and when?" (that was as cool as I could keep it). Thank, gosh she didn't see the happy dance I was doing in the produce section of the grocery store I was in. Let's just say there was a fist pump involved. Fast forward to dinner. IT.WAS.AWESOME. We hadn't missed a beat. In a weird way it was like we had actually gotten closer since she left (through social media, and both of our blogs, perhaps). We laughed so hard that our stomachs hurt. We caused a scene. We ate off of each others plates, discussed relationships, guilt, love, yoga, her trip, food, manic family members, and life. If it sounds magical, it was. It was a VERY good day.

So, you can see now that this dress has transcended from simple sheath, to my good luck dress. My cup runneth over dress. So... if you see me coming and I am in this dress, don't kill my vibe. Chances are that I am having a REALLY good day.

(By the way, I am not saluting anyone in these pictures. I am shielding the sun from my eyes. I know that I look ridiculous.)