Now I Get It

My mother became partial to caftan dresses as she entered middle age. I always thought them ugly-until my middle aged self purchased one yesterday. With sandals, a hat, summer handbag, and possibly sunglasses, this is as "dressed" as I plan to get in the predicted, "hotter than typical" summer we're looking at in Nebraska. Yes, that sentence had all manner of punctuation issues, screw you E.B. White (and screw you too Strunk).

It feels strange to type this, but here goes:
It is a really nice caftan.

I fully understand there are only a few snap-front closures between a caftan and a house-dress, but I fully intend to wear mine away from home. It took me more than forty years to understand, but now I get it. If I have to sit poolside this summer watching my seven year old scream, "look at me mama!" without the benefit of a poolside cocktail (My parents didn't know how great they had it in the 60's) I'll need something to protect my skin from sunlight (lupus sucks for a million reasons, but the rash is the most visible evidence of the suckiness). Caftan. Go ahead, say it with me slowly...caftan.

Know what else I'd like to get my middle aged hands on (please, get your minds out of the gutter)? Some oversized white plastic bangle bracelets. I have a necklace, and earrings-but you can't really wear a caftan to full effect without something on your wrist. The caftan is black and white, you see. My own mother would have worn red accents with it, and then matched her shoes, handbag and hair ribbon to it (really, she would have-she even matched her foundations that no one would see to her clothing). God I miss Woolworths-they would have had plastic bangles for sale.