It hung in my closet for months. I bought it on sale last spring, when I was looking for easy throw-it-on-and-you're-done dresses. I used to have many of these easy-breezy options, back when LuLaRoe was a thing. Now several sizes smaller, I've cleared all those out with little to replace them.

So I saw there was a sale at belk and went in. I couldn't try it on (ahem, COVID), but it seemed worth a try. Once I got home, it fit well enough so I kept it. And there, on the hanger, it has stayed ever since.

Why not wear it? No matter the occasion, it's always "too" something. Too colorful. Too long. Too flowy. Too dramatic. What can I say? This dress announces itself. It draws attention (to someone who doesn't usually like attention.) The cut and the neckline looks pretty good on me, but it's unconventional for my practical work environment. With COVID and everything else in my life, I don't have reason to dress up often. It was just never the right fit.

Until last week, when a friend invited me to an event celebrating the life of her lively, colorful Mami. It was out in the woods, so wearing something long made sense. I was bringing colorful flowers at my friend's request, so I packed it and went.

It's the kind of dress that makes me stand a little straighter. Walk a little taller. I felt sort of regal in it. I loved wearing it to the service and dinner after.

Then, life threw us curveballs, as it has lately, and I ended up wearing the dress to all kinds of unexpected places. It traveled hundreds of miles. The dress took me out into the middle of a pasture in the late evening darkness. The dress stayed the night in a vintage camper. It helped care for horses in a barn. The dress grabbed coffee at the only open place in town. The dress rolled into Walmart early Sunday morning, messy hair and all. A voice said "what a gorgeous dress!" and I thought to myself, if only you knew what it had been through. It's been pajamas, overalls, and everything else, it seems.

And then, it finally made its way back over the mountain pass and home again.

After all those months hanging, waiting for its moment, the dress made more than its mark on me. It will be making more appearances soon, now that I've seen its versatility and I've found the confidence to wear it. Do you have a dress that can take you all kinds of places?