26 Oct Threads of Friendship
Fourteen years ago, my husband and I said, “I do.”
That beautiful Saturday morning began with the final fitting for my wedding dress. I stood on a platform surrounded by mirrors as the seamstress began zipping up the dress.
I was expecting to hear the smooth hum of a zipping sound followed by a triumphant “Ta-da!” I was ready for a Cinderella moment where I would twirl around in my perfectly fitted gown. But instead, I heard a tingling metallic sound as the zipper slider fell off and onto the floor. Then the zipper’s teeth separated and the dress collapsed in a heap around me.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
“What happened?” I asked, fearing the answer.
The seamstress said she was confident that could replace the faulty zipper in no time and rushed off with the dress.
It was thirty minutes before the start of the wedding and the last bit of makeup was being swept across my face. The dress was still nowhere to be seen. I glanced at my phone to see a text from my friend and colleague, Kamilla. “It’s almost time! Do you need anything?” she wrote.
“The zipper is broken on my dress,” I wrote back. “Keep your fingers crossed that I make it down the aisle without my dress falling off!”
I set down my phone just as the seamstress returned my dress with the zipper repaired. This time I heard a satisfying zip. And then, after a blur of photos and music and walking with my dad down the aisle, I was standing in front of the people who had gathered to be with us on our special day.
I took a moment to scan the faces of those celebrating with us, seeing friends and family smiling back at me. My eyes stopped at Kamilla and her husband, Alf, who waved. And then, something caught my eye—Alf held up a tiny sewing kit he’d brought from their hotel room and gave me a thumbs up.
I am not certain, but if I had to guess, the wedding picture we have framed in our house was taken the moment I saw that sweet show of support. The memory still makes me smile fourteen years later.
Because that’s what we all need sometimes, isn’t it? When things get shaky, there’s nothing better than having people around who tenderly steady us, saying, “I’ve got you.” It’s nice knowing that someone has your back…quite literally.
It is those tiny threads of support and love that weave some of my favorite memories.