Lia the Flower Girl

When Mama Cora told us about it about a month ago, at first I didn't believe it, because the couple getting married didn't ask us themselves. What's more we don't even know them. And then when she said the wedding will be in early April, I almost didn't want to allow Lia to be a flower girl because I would still be recovering from my CS and won't be able to go (selfish, I know) and also because she's only 2 and as far as I know, the minimum age of a flower girl is 5 (but our flower girl was 3). And then Mama Cora told us one day that she's taking Lia to her couturera to have their dresses made and I knew it was too late to object. But I also learned that the wedding was a couple of weeks later than I first thought, and that it's going to be in Makati, so I could go to the wedding, witness my 2-year-old daughter's first walk down the aisle, and still make it back to my newborn baby daughter in a couple of hours or less. So I felt better about the whole thing, knowing I could be there.

AND THEN I learned that my mother-in-law had IDENTICAL dresses made for the two of them. I have to admit I began to wonder what this was really all about. Especially since we still hadn't heard from the couple themselves, no invitation or anything. And I contantly asked myself, am I being jealous? Isn't it the mom's prerogative to have matching outfits made with her daughter? I wonder whose idea it was to make Lia a flower girl in the first place? But there was nothing I could do about it so I told myself to let it go.

AND THEN I saw the dresses. And I was so glad I didn't have to wear the same thing that I started to get genuinely excited about the event. Excited for Lia, even if she had no idea what her Lola had planned for her (except that she got to wear a pretty dress). I bought a girdle and new shoes and charged my camera's batteries.

What do you do when your mother-in-law has identical dresses made for her and your daughter? You charge your camera's batteries.

The day of the wedding came along (by then I had received an invitation, and sure enough, Lia's name was there as one of the two flower girls. Mama Cora thought she'd be the only flower girl. Oh well. By the way, Mama Cora was one of the Ninangs.) and what a series of unfortunate events it turned out to be. The wedding was at 3. So, in my head, I thought, that meant Mama and Lia had to be there by 2:30 because they're both part of the entourage. Which meant we should leave the house at 2, just to be sure we were there on time.

I took a shower at around 1 and when I finished, Lia had just woken up from her nap and hadn't even had lunch yet. Her yaya told me that Lola Cora said we would leave at 2:30. I thought that was a bit late, but what the hey, it's not my show. I'm just coming along for the ride. So I got them started in getting Lia ready while I got dressed myself. By 2:15 Lia and I were dressed, made up and decked out in appropriate jewelry. By 2:30, I had finished nursing Desi and we were both ready to go. Where was Mama? She was still out having her nails and hair done. I had no idea why she was running late. It's very un-Juan to be less than 30 minutes early for any event so this was rather unusual but again, not my show.

We finally piled into the car at around 10 to 3. Mama Cora reassured us that they probably put 3pm in the invite but the actual wedding would start at 4. Which is of course entirely possible because for my own wedding the invitations said 3:30 but was really set for 4. And then, as we were going down EDSA, Lia suddenly throws up. A lot. And gets vomit all over her dress. Which was so unusual because Lia never gets carsick. Even when we drove all the way to Batangas Pier, or Punta Fuego, she's always travelled well in the car. We didn't have any carsickness bags so they had to catch her vomit with face towels or tissue, or whatever we could find. I almost threw up myself because I get carsick when I smell vomit. Fortunately, Lia was poised and quiet as we tried to wipe her clean in the moving vehicle. She even calmly asked for water after she finished throwing up. But UNfortunately, her dress was soiled. Sayang talaga.

As if that weren't enough, when we reached the church, they were in the middle of the first reading. They started on time, without us, and Lia didn't get to walk down the aisle. I was so disappointed. That was the only reason I came. We paused outside the church to wipe her down with water so you couldn't really see any stains on her dress anymore. She looked ok, but she still smelled of vomit, poor baby. But there was nothing we could do about that. Then we entered the church and attended the wedding. I felt so bad for Lola Cora because showing off her elder granddaughter is her one great joy and they didn't even get to walk down the aisle.

Lia was mostly quiet throughout the wedding, and clingy and low, not her usual jumpy self. Until towards the end of the mass when her Yaya gave her some soft candy that she perked up a bit. Enough to enjoy holding on to her basket of flower petals, to pose by herself with the couple and the other flower girl for pictures, and then pose with the Ninangs, and with the whole Umali side of the family. And in the end, they let the flower girls walk ahead of the couple as they came out of the church. And Lia did her job, with basket in one hand and candy in another, following her Yaya and Lola out of the Church. So she walked after all, and did a pretty good job at that.

Outside the church, as people waited for their rides to go to the reception, everyone gushed at how cute Lola and Apo looked together in their matching outfits. That was really the whole point anyway, so it still turned out ok, despite all the mishaps earlier. And that is how my mother-in-law succeeded in turning my daugher into her Mini Me.

I still wouldn't be caught dead in a dress like theirs, but they do look kinda cute after all. I have a feeling this is all borne out of frustration at not getting to wear matching clothes with her own daughter when she was little. So, Ninang, I totally blame you. Hahaha!

Epilogue

I had no plans of attending the reception because I didn't want to leave Desi for too long. Lia was supposed to attend with her Lola after the wedding. But because she got soiled, I insisted on taking her home for a bath and a change of clothes before sending her off to the party. I mean, she looked ok, but she smelled quite bad. So we dropped Lola Cora and Tita Bing off at Aberdeen Court on Makati Ave (quite near our house) and headed home. There was a bit of trouble when Lia wanted to wear a pink t-shirt and pants to the party and when I said no, she screamed heaven off the sky. She stopped when she saw the pretty white dress she would get to wear instead. And after she was clean and dressed, and neatened and re-made up, she absolutely refused to leave the house. With a hundred million NOs and her butt firmly planted in her play area in the sala. I tried several times to get her to go, but to no avail, and I didn't want to force her so in the end she stayed at home, and played for a while in a party dress and diamonds until it was time to change and have dinner. And that was the end of that.