diana

today i went to atlanta to see the diana: a celebration exhibit. i went with my childhood friend, a faithful diana supporter and fan, and em, a now faithful diana supporter and fan. so where do i begin with telling this story? we have been trying to make this pilgrimage for months and finally put a date on the calendar when school got out. but to say it started there would be denying any insight into why this was such an anticipated day...as well as not telling the whole story.

i don't remember the exact date that my friend, mary hardin, and i became so entranced with lady diana. it had to have been sometime in 1980. i just know that all of a sudden, she was everywhere and we were mesmerized by her story. we wanted her haircut. we wanted her clothes. we followed every detail of her engagement to the prince of wales(who?) and her life as she became his princess. we both got up early on that wednesday morning in july of 1981 to watch their royal wedding. july 29th to be exact. she gave me a book about the wedding for christmas that year. we took the book with us today. we loved her and we wanted to be her.

we both followed her life over the next 16 years. we followed the births of her sons, watched her become even more of a style icon, saw her grow as a charitable woman to many countries and causes, cringed as the media tormented her over marital issues and health problems, and we sat stunned on august 31, 1997 as the news reported her tragic, senseless death. i was in total disbelief. now once again, i sat glued to the television as the news replayed the horrific details of her last hours. and i watched as her two sons walked behind her casket in the cortege leading to her funeral, masses of people weeping and mourning the loss of their nation's princess.

so....this morning, mary hardin arrived at our house with tiaras and we left for atlanta, trying to explain to emily who diana was and why we grew up loving her so much. we tried but could not think of anybody in this present day to make a comparison to for her. the exhibit tour lasted about an hour and a half and met our every expectation. the photos, the tiaras, the video footage of her childhood, wedding and funeral were so moving. everything from her tiny ballet slippers to her grown up couture gowns was just amazing. i think the heart-grabbing moment for me was when we turned the corner and saw her glass encased wedding gown. the lighting on it was so dramatic. i could not believe that i was seeing the dress that i had been so enthralled with so many years ago. if you are not a huge fan, it's too hard to explain. if you are, then you get it.

as we left the exhibit, it all just seemed so surreal. emily signed the guest book at the end and commented on what a special lady diana was. she got it. we took her to virginia highlands and had lunch at a fabulous thai restaurant. we had coconut soup and now back to reality, i realized that i had never eaten soup with em while sitting to her left. she is left-handed and we kept bumping elbows. we followed that with ice cream for her and some shopping for us. it was such a great day to be with the girls, seeing this once in a lifetime exhibit, and walking around the quaint virginia highlands area on a beautiful summer afternoon.