Prom Dresses & Defiant Joy {31 Days of Joy}

I wore my daughter’s prom dress to work today.

Let me guess some of the things you may be thinking right now:
1. Why?!?
2. What daughter?
3. No really, why?

Let’s clear up number 2 first since that’s the quick answer: While I don’t yet have biological children of my own, I did get the opportunity to host a 17-year old exchange student from the Faroe Islands a few years ago. She’s beautiful. Her country is beautiful. I love her so much! (You can read about it, and her, in one of my previous October Write 31 Day Challenges: 31 Days on Instant Motherhood).

Now back to the other question at hand… why did I wear her prom dress that I found unexpectedly in a dress bag with some bridesmaid apparel that I thought had been donated to the local prom dress collection long ago?

The simple, surface level answer is that it’s Spirit week at the university where I work and today was “Dress Your Best” day. But the truth is I have many options of (slightly less bold) options of dress clothes I could have picked. So here are a few of the many little things that piece together to do something kind of ridiculous today… When I saw it in the closet it made me laugh and smile. Who wouldn’t? It’s super sparkly and fun. Also, it just seemed just ridiculous enough that I might actually fit into it that it was worth a shot.

It also brought back so many great memories of my year with Elisa. While there were challenges for sure in taking a 17-year old and a 28-year old from two cultures and countries, with 2 different first languages, and throwing them into this weird “mom/daughter/single first time parenting/exploring a new culture/awkward age gap” kind of situation for 10 months, there were also incredible moments as well. This dress made me think of many of them like the night she picked it out, both of us knowing it was perfect. I even remember us getting the family size container of Panera’s tomato soup on the way home because she wasn’t feeling good and it was one of her favorites.

Then there’s actual prom night where I treasure the memory of me and Elisa’s real mom both standing behind her in the bathroom both working together to do her hair before sending her off. Also, the idea that I would potential wear it for homecoming week made me think of her first and only experience with an American homecoming week. Oh the “blood sweat and tears” some evenings as we tried to piece together a wardrobe for the next day’s adventure. (I’m still pretty proud of our Dora the Explorer backpack!)

Reason 3#: Simply put, why not? 🙂

And on to #4: Defiance. Yes, this was perhaps the biggest reason I threw on the silver sparkly dress and walked across a college campus this morning. One of Satan’s most annoying tactics is to make us believe that what other people think of us is what matters most in this world. I’m sure I’m not the only one who goes to battle with him in this area regularly. The fearful, self-conscious Bekah wanted to play it safe. She wanted to participate in the day, but not stand out at all.

I hesitated, afraid of how others would respond. To wear the dress was a practical step toward not really caring if other participated or not, to not caring if they thought I was crazy, to doing something simply because it sounded fun.

And all of that leads to my final reason, and also the reason I’m blogging about the whole experience now:

JOY.

Wearing this dress brought joy to my day, and I think other people too. (Even if they were just laughing at how ridiculous it was.)

I wanted to participate again in the annual Write 31 Day blogging challenge that occurs each October. I’ve jumped in a few years in the past and never regretted the accountability that comes with having to show up every single day to write. It randomly came to mind Tuesday and last night as I considered what I wanted this year’s theme to be, I pondered what I needed and what the world needed right now.

First, I thought about peace. In anxious uncertain times, peace definitely applies.

Then I thought maybe I’d just copy what I did in 2015 where I didn’t really pick a specific theme but focused on the concept of taking “31 Days to Just Write“. Write about anything and everything, just show up.

But then it struck me. What we all could use a little more of right now is JOY. We need fun and spontaneity, hard-fought joy and small delights. This season is universally just so hard. We need… I need… to notice joy, watch for joy, celebrate joy, choose joy. Day in and day out. Moment after moment.

So here we are.

Day 1.

A whole month ahead of us, focused on joy.

And it all started with a sparkly dress on a random Thursday.

What brought you joy today? Share in the comments below!