By bedtime, I was calm, although the problem still remained. Just before we went to sleep, my husband said in the kindest most loving voice, "Sweetheart, there will be other women at the wedding who don't own formals. Wear the nicest dress you have. It'll be fine." And it WAS fine. Peaceful. Why hadn't I thought of that?
The next night, he compounded his genius by saying, "If you'll be more comfortable with a new dress, it's okay to buy one." And THAT was fine, because he really meant it.
So now, two thoughts about the wedding are floating around in peaceful coexistence. 1) I have to buy a dress. 2) I'll wear a dress I already own. It's the damnedest thing––these two opposing thoughts don't seem contradictory. They're equally plausible. The situation feels different in all the fresh air and open space of my formerly disaster-crowded mind.
The question is no longer what will I do. The question is this: which thought will I believe?