In Case of an Emergency

Last night I hosted some special girlfriends for dinner.  This group of women has been getting together more or less monthly for the last five or six years.  Sometimes we do potluck in someone's home, and on other occasions we'll have dinner at a restaurant followed by a movie, especially if there's a good chick flick out.

A few years ago when our children started getting married, we began throwing Mother of the Bride (or Groom) showers.  Gifts range from lotion and foot scrub to aspirin and drink mixes—anything to help ease the tension of planning a wedding.  Last night was Glenda's turn to be honored, since her daughter Anna is getting married in a couple of weeks.

When Connie's daughter Bromleigh married in June of 2006, Luna presented her with an emergency box.  It contained such things as safety pins, a sewing kit, Tums, Tylenol and hairspray.  Over the years, it's been passed down to other MOB's and MOG's with each of us adding to the box.  Each MOB's or MOG's name and the date of her son's or daughter's wedding is written inside the lid.

The two bottles of vodka, probably left over from Luna's days as a flight attendant, were original to the box.  They are still there, never opened.  However, they did go missing for a while.

When Karen presented the box to Becky in March of 2007, the bottles of vodka were nowhere to be found, and we accused Karen of consuming them, mindful that she had every right to do so.  Karen, however, told a different story, insisting that she removed them from the box and hid them so that her mother wouldn't see them.  Later on when Karen moved and was cleaning out a chest, she found the vodka and returned it to the emergency box.  Maybe Glenda will find a use for it this year.

Several items were added to the box this year.  Janice furnished white chalk.  She heard somewhere that it can be used to cover up minor stains on the wedding dress.

I had a real problem with static cling when Brent married in 2005, so I bought Static Guard for the emergency box, and I also threw in a pair of scissors.  Side note:  If you don't have Static Guard available, dryer sheets rubbed over your legs make a great substitute.

With swine flu in the news, Sherri included hand sanitizer.  A huge Alabama fan, she also graciously contributed some Auburn orange Tic Tacs for Glenda to enjoy.

These special special bridal beads that Luna brought last night can be worn by the MOB or MOG so that everyone knows just how important she is.

And perhaps the best addition of all was this wine cork.  Luna explained that when the father of the bride starts asking too many questions about how much the wedding is costing, you just quietly stuff it into his mouth.

Sadly, one original item is missing from the emergency box, but nobody will confess to taking the leopard skin undies.