I went to see my dress maker yesterday afternoon to discuss what the skirt of my dress is going to look like. As we were discussing the material and the stretchiness, she asked me how the planning was going in terms of managing my family. I was vaguely aware that her family had a lot of dysfunction, but for the most part up until yesterday, I never really told her about my family at all. I told her there was more drama than was really necessary and let her know about my aunt, her estranged son, my selfish cousins in Brooklyn… oh, and the fact that we have two of my mom’s long-time good friends coming to this wedding from Hawaii who don’t realize that Ed is not here anymore.

My dress maker has become like my pseudo therapist. She talked me through these situations and suggested I email these family friends and briefly let them know about Ed. “This little gesture will solve a lot of problems later,” she advised. “Trust me. Don’t let this potentially ruin your wedding day.” She even offered to write the email for me.

If only more people could be this helpful.