A boy, a dress and a circular saw

It was a day in April, 2008, that began ordinarily enough. The kids were puttering around the house. Eventually it became quiet. Not quiet in a good sense, but too quiet, which means the kids might be up to something. I knew where H was - nothing to worry about there. But little N (two years old at the time) was nowhere to be found. Then I heard rustling in my closet and felt relieved. Relief quickly turned into concern when I couldn't completely open the closet door. Inside, I had a tall plastic storage container which holds wrapping paper. N had knocked it over, which was now lodged against the door. Panic set in as it became clear that N was trapped inside. My closet swings inward, which means that the hinges are on the inside of the closet. I was ready to call the fire department at that point, until G had the idea of using his circular saw to cut through the door.

N was quite calm, probably too young to understand the situation he was in. I knew we had to move quickly though, because it was close to nap-time and he was getting tired. His big sister, on the other hand, became very emotional. I remember her crying. "I'm not going to have a little brother anymore."

We could only open the door about four inches. So, with my arm squeezed through the small opening, I held N down on the floor in one corner, as G sawed through the door. My focus was on keeping N still and calm as the saw whirred loudly above our heads, sawdust flying.

And then I heard G yell out, "What is this - insulation?" A few seconds later it dawned on me. That white stuff coming through the door was my wedding dress. Apparently, hanging your wedding dress behind the closet door, is not the best place to keep a cherished keepsake.

Luckily, we were able to set N free, unscathed. The bottom half of my wedding gown, however, was not so lucky.

What do you do with a shredded wedding gown? With our thirteen year wedding anniversary coming up in a few days, I finally did something with the dress.



I took some of the salvaged fabric and made a mini wedding dress. At least now, the dress is not just gathering dust behind the closet door. This shadow box holds only a small remnant of my dress, but represents a special memory of our wedding day and of memories we've made since then.