I'm jumping in a little differently this time because we are in the midst of fulling funding an emergency fund (Dave Ramsey, Baby Step #3). Normally, the Flylady suggests just giving things away, and I am all for that, but I don't have a substantial paycheck to contribute to emergency fund effort, so I've decided to sell anything in our home that is not tied down. I've been doing well with books and DVD's, but I decided to peruse the jewelry box to see if there was anything of value there. Oh, the horrible memory I found there.
In college I lived with a sorority sister who came from an affluent family. They were cabinet makers in Missouri. This sister met a man who really liked the idea of being affluent, too, and they became engaged. As I lived with her at the time, I was invited to be a bridesmaid. Thankfully I was not the only one because I don't think I could have done this by myself.
We went through weeks of dress issues to be part of this wedding. We took a group trip to the bride-to-be's hometown for a fashion show to choose the perfect ensemble. We, the bridesmaids, tried on each dress, and they, the bride-to-be, her mother, and her aunt, commented on how horrible each of us looked and the specific flaws that each dress accentuated on our forms. Flat-chested, large-chested, too fat, too skinny...we left that dress shop feeling horrible. Then they took us to a restaurant that specializes in HUGE portions so we could feel even better about ourselves while we ate.
Now, I must say that 33 year old Rachel would have handled that wedding differently. I would have laughed in their faces and caught a cab home. 20 year old Rachel, however, wasn't quite ready to be that assertive, so I just went along with it and resisted the urge to develop an eating disorder.
I could go on about this wedding, but you probably get the gist of the whole thing. It. Was. Awful.
At the rehearsal dinner, we received 14K gold bracelets from England (Ooooh!). The groom had picked them for us. In each box was a cute little thank you note from the bride. Mine said, "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll be in my shoes!" Meaning maybe one day I, too, would get to be the bridezilla. Grrrr.
During my decluttering rampage the other day, I found that pretty little box and bracelet, and the catty little thank you note in the bottom. I thought to myself, "That was a horrible experience. I wonder how much I could get for this?" Now, friends, the bracelet is for sale on eBay. The auction ends later this week, and I already have some bids.
So, I'm getting paid to get rid of a harbinger of ill-feeling that I have carried around for about 13 years and worn one time. To the wedding. That's it. Ahhhh...decluttering feels so good!
Are you holding on to anything that upsets you when you see it? If so, I encourage you to send it packing! It really is a great feeling to be rid of bad memories!
Oh, and if you need a gold bracelet, here's the link;)
7 comments:
Holy wow - that was some thank-you note! Good riddance to that bracelet! I hope you make a killing. Any word on how the marriage is working out? Heh heh. ;)
Liz, you crack me UP!!! :D
I was going to say the same thing, but the evil snicker at the end really seals it! I would have loved to see and hear 30-yr-old Rachel's response to all that bad behavior. I hope you make a good chunk of change on that chunk of the past! Good luck! And thanks for the witty post...I enjoyed reading it!
I just followed your link to the bracelet...it comes with "The Story of the Victorian Bracelet?" I'm confident that your version of this bracelet's story is better!!!
My mom was great about getting rid of things that weren't nailed down when we were growing up so because of that I don't hold on to too much. My organizational skills aren't that great though (I blame it on a small house), so I am always finding things that I think "why did I keep this for so long".
Love your story. I hope you make a lot of money off the braclet. And I too am curious how her marriage is going? :)
So, I honestly don't know what happened to them. We lost touch pretty quickly after the wedding (can you imagine why?) and I've never run across them again. I've tried finding her online, but she must be hiding somewhere. ;)
Karly has a simliar story about a frind's wedding in Cal... More about the family than the birde.. But I will let her tell it! I hope you can get some BIG bucks for that bracelet!
OK, so my story is not quite as bad as Rachel's. Actually, the girl was and is a sweet person. But we were told the bridesmaid dresses were $150 and when we got there we were told they were $350. Yikes! And we were made to get these beehive hair-dos, at our expense if I remember correctly. She, of course, did not get a beehive hair do. I guess she just wanted to make sure that she was the only good looking one up front. I think she is still happily married with three kids. Hey, where is that $350 dress??? Maybe I could put it up for sale!
Rachel, loved the post! Hilarious story! I especially liked the catty note part. The whole thing seemed unbelievable! Hope you make a lot of money on the necklace!
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