Meredith's 1st Communion
Last weekend Meredith had her First Communion, a very special event 2 years in the making.
It took a long time after Wallace had his First Communion for Meredith to understand that she would have to go through the same 2 years of preparation that he went through before it would be her turn. And when she started this last year of religious education, she thought way back in September that any Sunday would be the Sunday. It took several weeks to get her to understand that it would not take place until May…for a good reason. She had quite a bit to learn.
So we spent our evenings learning prayers and watching educational videos, and there were a few weekends with religious workshops. She diligently attended everything, and was my best kid at memorization.
Way back in November I started to get concerned with all the shortages and panics that I should go ahead and get her dress early, so she picked it out online. She fell in LOVE with this butterfly dress immediately. It was the first one she saw, and even though I made her look at all of the other options by the same designer, she just kept going back to it…she knew exactly what she wanted.
We did painstaking measurements, and I’d even bought Anna’s dress from the same designer, so with that one for comparison, I felt confident she’d have room to grow into the size we bought….but it was a perfect fit back in November when it arrived! So, on Sunday, the top two buttons in the back actually weren’t buttoned. We could have buttoned them, but Meredith can’t handle being restricted in clothing, so she was much more comfortable leaving some space. Good thing she’s got long hair!
After learning the ropes with Anna, I also chose to go straight back to the super friendly discount bridal shop with Meredith to get her veil. They were very sweet. She was a bundle of energy and excitement that morning. She’d been looking forward to getting her veil for months! I took her dress with us so we could get a perfect color match, and the store attendants were ohhing and ahhing over the dress and the 3-D butterflies on it. Just in general making a fuss over Meredith. Every time Meredith went to move across the store she would literally JUMP with excitement before moving, and I’d have to whisper to her to walk and not skip or run anywhere and to be careful not to knock anything over. “Don’t touch, don’t touch, don’t touch!” Then she’d be literally hopping in place. We ended up deciding to replace the tiara we’d already bought because it just wasn’t a great fit and rhinestones were falling off of it constantly, so she shopped for a new tiara there as well, and then she decided on her veil. The shop owner even helped me replace a rhinestone that had fallen out of the old tiara that we’d brought to the shop with us. They really are the best bridal shop in town. As I was checking out, trying to pay her and keep an eye on Meredith (who of course was acting like a bull in a china cabinet) at the same time, the shop owner very sweetly said to me, “I have one just like her, it’s totally fine.” I can’t explain how much it means to me when someone says something like that and has understanding and an appreciation for Meredith’s energy rather than a disdain. I love Meredith just the way she is, I wouldn’t change a thing about her. I wish everyone could appreciate and have patience with her “energy”, but I realize it’s challenging for some people. I’m just so happy when I run across people who get it, and I love to pay it forward to others who have girls like her and make understanding comments like the shop owner did to me that day.
About a week before the big day we finally went to get Meredith some shoes. She was all about comfort! So, her white sandals are super cushy, and I had a hard time keeping her out of them for the entire week leading up to the mass. But she knew she did not want to deal with uncomfortable shoes on her big day. This girl is wise beyond her years.
I was glad the week before her big day she let me do a practice run on her hair because we learned some things….#1. It took forever, 2. She needed a chair to sit in, #3. She also needed an iPad. So, on Sunday, she wasn’t grouchy, and we got it all done in time! Soooo much hair spray! My arm was sticky.
I was so proud of Meredith for getting through her First Communion mass like such a big girl. This was one of the first masses…if not possibly the very first mass that she did not at some point completely lay out on the pew or the floor, or just sit on the floor…she did try several times to burrow her head into me, but she really couldn’t because of her tiara and her veil. It was a VERY long mass. There was a baptism in addition to the first communion, so it was an hour and a half long. They were really testing her limits of being able to sit still. She did great!
After the mass, Josh said to me, “You did a good job, she looked great.” And I thought about it, and said…”Oh…well hey, I didn’t pick any of that out.” Haha! Meredith put together her whole outfit herself. I had a tiny bit of say in her hairstyle, but not much. When I stepped back and really thought about it, I was just that much more impressed with her.
I want to thank everyone who helped in some way to make this big day special. It’s a day she worked hard to fully understand the importance of, and a day she will remember forever.
