The Red Dress

Last year I went shopping for something to wear to dinner with my husband to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I brought my 5-year-old sidekick along and we headed to TJ Maxx. I scoured the racks for the perfect outfit. I wanted, and needed, something sexy and a little off the beaten path from my suburban mom khaki wardrobe. Over the past 10 years I've slowly morphed into a proverbial Lands End poster mom. Everything I wear is pretty conservative, practical, and may or may not be sporting a stubborn Kool-Aid stain (or three).

I tend to wear a lot of black, so I wanted something colorful. I was starting to get discouraged and was trying to coax my daughter away from the toy department so we could leave when I spotted a red dress. It was a fun short knit wrap dress in a beautiful Asian print. My daughter said, "I love that dress mommy! Try it on!"

We headed to the dressing rooms and I slipped the dress over my head and smoothed it out (and I may or may not have sucked in my stomach with extra zeal.) I looked in the full-length mirror and knew it was perfect. It was sexy, but not over the top, and it reminded me of something I would have worn pre-kids and pre-marriage, back when I was single and still going out on weekends with my roommate to check out local bands. Back when khaki was not a wardrobe staple and juice boxes weren't permanent residences in my refrigerator.

My daughter was my dressing room cheerleader. "Mommy you look beautiful! Now you need some red shoes!"

I didn't buy any red shoes that day, but I did buy the red dress. It's a reminder that deep down inside I am still that 20-something girl that would paint the town red every weekend, only now I've got more khaki and Kool-Aid in my life.

An original Deep South Moms post. When she's not scouring TJ Maxx for a deal, Jamie can be found writing at BlondeMomBlog.