From Beneath a Pile of Snow...

My head is itching and my shirt is popping over my chest. This can only mean two things: I am dyeing my hair (again) and busty girls were never intended to wear buttondown shirts (which is why I only wear them for situations such as this.)

I love changing my hair color - it's the only thing I do to really alter my appearance. Aside from one drastic chop to just-below-chin-length back in 2003 - my hair is the same as it was in grammar school. (Ok, I'm blacking out about 4 horrific poodle-perms circa the early 90's. But I refuse to let them count. I was young and under the misguided impression that looking like a lion caught in an electrical socket was "cool")

Tonight, I'm dyeing my hair because we've been trapped in the house all day, bullied by a snowstorm. Because I've already baked cookies and read stories and played games and put my son to bed. And, because the dye was on sale and the box was sitting on the counter in my bathroom, begging for a go.

But, I digress.

Late last night, my husband and I threw darts while an episode of Mythbusters blurred past us in the background. Between our turns, I rummaged through a big box of clothing from our condo and pulled out the going-away dress from our wedding. It's a cute little dress - short but cut at jagged angles at the bottom. Ivory and tight, but with a delicate layer of lace material skimming over the top. And, my favorite part, it's an empire waist - the opposite of the button-down shirt for girls like myself.

In a fit of random - I pulled the dress over my clothes and continued to toss darts (and lose) while wearing it, like a five year old playing dress-up. It was surprisingly fun. Firstly, I was quite happy that the little thing still fit nicely - even when worn over jeans and a shirt - but secondly, because it was a silly and purposeless thing to do. Just what this weary mother needed.

My husband even joined in my little game of dress-up, pulling on a sports coat that he dug from the heap. But he only wore it for a minute or two, as it interfered with his dart throwing ability. (He won.)

We stayed up long past our bedtime. I, in my little going-away dress - took off the jeans and shirt, and modeled for myself like a little girl in front of the bathroom mirror. Embarrassingly girly. But, it was fun to see myself in something other than sweatpants and thrift store tee-shirts. Something frivolous and fun. Something with such a happy history woven into it. This is the dress I wore from our wedding, across the atlantic, all the way to our B&B in Rome. Not surprisingly, I haven't had much of an occasion to wear it lately, so, yes, I spun around a few times, and smiled at myself. And enjoyed every minute of it.

Then I met my husband in the bedroom - and we played cards on the bed for hours. My best friend and I, like a couple of kids. It was the perfect way to usher in the Blizzard of '06.