<p>Glad to hear the docs are pleased with your progress – what a great birthday gift!</p>
<p>LTS, what our children don’t realize is that an opportunity to give them joy is usually our own best gift, so you DID give yourself a birthday present yesterday. (She won’t understand until she’s a mom one day.) Congrats on the encouraging medical news!</p>
<p>oh, even better, my oncologist talked to my radiation oncologists and he said “suddenly they all like you a LOT and they said once they got to know you, you’re an extremely nice person” </p>
<p>We all knew this would happen…once the docs get over their own feelings of inadequacy, since they simply cannot deliver their absolute best ever fifteen minutes of the day, and they all suffer from fear of failing their patients, I knew you would become one of their most beloved patients as soon as they got to admire your grit and your excellent relationship capacity…and they are now fans and big time rooting for you…</p>
<p>I say Let them Knock Themselves Out now on your behalf…and somehow I know they will champion your every clinical care decision.</p>
<p>nice to hear the positive news and see your team draw together</p>
<p>and I enjoy vicariously imagining your daughter in a smashing dress with her brilliant boyfriend on one of their big days in life</p>
<p>…and congrats on talking to that young lady. She’s going to remember you, and you may have saved her life.</p>
<p>Still working on my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, both smokers. I hope they meet someone like you on the street someday soon.</p>
<p>Whew! Big sigh of relief over the dress - I was on a conference call and a call from my daughter went to my voicemail - evidently she tried on the dress and the shoes together, looked at herself in the mirror, and was overjoyed; apparently it looks fantastic so whatever misgivings she had last night seem to have fled…so anyway I got this long voicemail message saying thank you, thank you, thank you, it’s awesome etc…delayed reaction? 
whatever the case, I’m relieved; I did try to explain to her last night that my greatest joy has been in providing for her, so this WAS a gift to myself, but she didn’t totally grasp that - (Momof2inca as you said she will not understand this until she is in the same situation)…</p>
<p>LTS, could you describe the dress/outfit? I’d like to be able to picture it and you are sooo good with visual details.</p>
<p>Momof2inca we might have just come to the end of my skill set lol. This is a BCBGirls dress, strapless, the colors are off-white, and several shades of blue and green in a very tasteful flower pattern; full, very feminine skirt. Her new shoes match one of the more interesting blue colors perfectly, which is just bizarre, especially considering that the shoes are made by a totally different designer. </p>
<p>My personal preference are some of the more elegant but simple black dresses, but, this dress is far more “Miami” and more appropriate for her and for the event(s). </p>
<p>If I go, no matter what I wear I will look like a slob BY COMPARISON, an issue that delights me no end. LOL.</p>
<p>Yes, your D will someday realize you enjoyed getting her the dress as much as she will enjoy wearing it, perhaps more.</p>
<p>Here’s to a happy “new year” for you, and no more lie/laying (or LOLing) on the floor for dinner!</p>
<p>The dress sounds lovely!</p>
<p>and another</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[Community</a> Press - Study finds dirty air in bars, restaurants](<a href=“http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NEWS01/804290305]Community”>http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NEWS01/804290305)</p>
<p>Is this the dress? It’s beautiful</p>
<p>[BCBGMAXAZRIA</a> Strapless Floral Chiffon Gown - Nordstrom](<a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2978236?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8166519&largeImg=0&tname=product]BCBGMAXAZRIA”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2978236?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8166519&largeImg=0&tname=product)</p>
<p>^^ Pretty dress!!! Oh to be young again, aad to be able to wear such a dress! I must say, it is joyful to see this thread talk about dresses and shoes and birthdays.</p>
<p>^^jym626: “it is joyful to see this thread talk about dresses and shoes and birthdays.”</p>
<p>Yes, yes it is and I am so glad you pointed that out! :)</p>
<p>Lots of warm thoughts going out to you LTS on all your recent happiness and news</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, all I can say as the mom of an 18-year-old D, “join the club!”</p>
<p>The dress sounds wonderful and I hope you get the okay to go join in.</p>
<p>mmmm, or is this the dress? Inquiring minds want to know!!!</p>
<p>[BCBGMAXAZRIA</a> Strapless Floral Silk Dress - Nordstrom](<a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2970363?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8135461&largeImg=0&tname=product]BCBGMAXAZRIA”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2970363?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8135461&largeImg=0&tname=product)</p>
<p>If it weren’t for the lilac overtones, I’d have guessed maybe this one.</p>
<p>[BCBGMAXAZRIA</a> Strapless Floral Chiffon Gown - Nordstrom](<a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2975858?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8020125&largeImg=0&tname=product]BCBGMAXAZRIA”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2975858?tuid=000006cb-006f-0861-6c61-726765727669&id=8020125&largeImg=0&tname=product)</p>
<p>Astrophysicsmom you found it!!! How did you do that from my goofy description??? LOL. But I like the dress mootmom found even better - but I don’t think she would wear such a long dress - oh, on second thought, I am not sure if that yellow is so attractive…</p>
<p>and another</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[Baxter</a> Bulletin - <a href=“http://www.baxterbulletin.com”>www.baxterbulletin.com</a> -](<a href=“http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080430/NEWS01/804300311/1002]Baxter”>http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080430/NEWS01/804300311/1002)</p>
<p>(P.S. As the father of two sons, both of whom I love madly [to borrow from Duke Ellington], I always feel a bit w-i-s-t-f-u-l [CC seems to have a problem with this word, which is why I’m writing it like this], even envious, whenever I hear the word “daughter.” How lovely it must be to be able to buy your child, as a gift, a dress.)</p>
<p>Epistrophy,
Your comment was so sweet - it brought tears to my eyes. I hope there’s a granddaughter in your future!</p>
<p>I am glad she decided to accept the dress. I purchased a BCBG dress for my D to wear at a wedding in the Keys. We found it at an outlet store. She put it on, it fit perfectly, and WOW. Something about it made me realize why some dresses were just WORTH the price. So I can guess how both your D and you felt when it all came together with the shoes. Meant to be.</p>
<p>Epistrophy, thank you for continuing to send these examples of hope; they mean a lot to me and I read every one, and many of them I print out and read again and again. </p>
<p>Re daughters, I actually do know what that feels like. Perhaps it is the same for both genders, but, for 20+ years I have fought the urge to “over buy” for mine; everything from expensive jewelry to cars to toys - you name it; I have had to use a lot of self control to maintain the balance between giving her lovely or expensive things to leaving her enough room and “want” to ensure she experiences, over and over, the joy of wanting something, working and saving the money for it, and buying it for herself, as well as the experience to know that just because a thing can be afforded or money found in the budget doesn’t mean we cave and buy it, and then finally the experience of wanting something badly, working for it, buying, and then discovering it wasn’t worth it in the first place. It has never been easy for me and it still isn’t. (Just last week I was dying to buy her the latest Mac.) Granddaughters though - hmmm…might be different, more relaxed “rules” :)</p>
<p>Sunnyflorida, mine is a thift store shopper, or, if she has to buy at a real store, it’s gotta be on sale. She was initially troubled by the price of this dress and commented that she could have purchased four complete outfits for the same amount of money. </p>
<p>We are going to an outlet center in Leesburg (wherever that is) this weekend to find another dress for her for the rest of the events; hopefully we don’t stumble into the same dress for half the price…it’ll be impossible not to look, too, yikes…</p>