One of Alyssa's friends has created an Embarrass Yourself Wednesday on Instagram....a photo sharing app used by smart phones. So I was thinking about what photo to put up today and I thought....what the heck...I will go along with the Embarrass Yourself Wednesday theme.
Some of you may know that in a past life I was the youth choir director at my church. I did that for many years. One group of girls somewhere along the way decided that they wanted to do more than just sing...they wanted to have dinners and put on shows and go on trips.....and thus the Variety Show was born. We did it maybe 5 or 6 years. It was very much driven by the kids...they did skits, dances, singing, lip synching....it was a fun family night. One thing we did the last couple of years was invite some of the women of the church to be part of a wacky fashion show. It was an "anything goes" kind of show...anything mismatched in any way or any truly wacky outfit was what we were looking for. I had to "twist" a few arms...but it was always a fun number. We always looked for new music as we pranced up in our fashions...kids and women together...
This particular year we had decided to use the song "My Strongest Suit" from the Broadway show "Aida". If you aren't familiar with that show, now would be the appropriate time to open another tab and go look it up on youtube before proceeding. This is probably the best link to give you a sense of how the song is performed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6cwVkR_pjY .
So, I had been thinking about it...and there needed to be a main person...and I decided I would do that (I have a little "ham" in me)...and lip synch it. What would my fashion be? I woke up one morning with a vision of a dress with tentacle like adornments all over the dress. I had to find someone who could help me bring this vision to fruition, because a seamstress....I am not! I had asked around to a couple of my friends who could sew...and though they were willing to help had no idea how to go about this...and finally suggested I ask my friend Monica. They also shared with me....that they have no desire to ever get in my head and see the world as I do....as I shared my vision, people just looked at me in a very odd way.
Now Monica is one of those people that is just involved in everything, heading up PTA's and 15 other committees without breaking a sweat. So I texted her and after telling her how beautiful and amazing she was asked for a teensy-tiny -little-itty-bitty favor....or something like that. The short version of the story is that without too much bribery, Monica agreed to do it. I went and got a basic pattern. Monica looked at it and told me that I would need tons of fabric for this...and then she remembered some donated fabric she had in her basement. I was convinced there was divine intervention going on here. We spent several Saturdays together in her sewing room, talking and she sewed while I cut and pinned...and ... Voila!! The masterpiece was born. The tentacle dress is how I always referred to it. We stuffed the tentacles with quilt batting and wire. so we could bend them. The headpiece was made completely by me with cardboard, extra fabric and of course...extra tentacles...I know, I know....amazing right? No applause, please!!
When I first brought it home, I put it on and called my kids in. Cara was 17, Alyssa 14 and Alex was 9. When they first saw me, they were overcome with sheer horror and embarrassment at the mere anticipation of me wearing this creation in public. But for me...embarrassing my kids...is like my parental right...and the more they get embarrassed...the further I go.
No one else other than my kids had seen this. We had practiced the number...but no one really knew what anyone was wearing until that night. The dress was made with just tentacles at the skirt...and then the extra layers were attached over it. So when I first started the song, I just had the basic dress on...mildly amusing...but at the end of the number I went out and came back in with the whole ensemble...headpiece and all. There are obviously some photos and videos taken...and I love watching the looks of surprise, shock and amusement on everyone's face as they saw me come in....Precious! As for my kids...they just had to deal, and for awhile I was threatening Cara that I was saving that dress as my "mother of the bride" dress for when she gets married some day.
Thinking about the Variety shows makes me miss that time and place...but especially those people. In a way it was sort of the best of times and the worst of times for me all at once. As time passed, we left that church. It was the right decision for us. We are so happy where we are now...but there is an ache in my heart for all the wonderful friends that I just never see anymore. If you are one of those people, reading this...please know how dearly we miss you!! The people in my new church really have no clue about this side of me, I am not sure they could handle it!! I have been quite well behaved....which believe it or not...I am capable of doing. And so I think I have adequately embarassed myself.... for tonight anyway.
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